G I Joe Halo
by Freedom Guard
Summary: The Forward Unto Dawn arrives at Earth, but it's not the Earth where the UNSC exists, but there are two organizations worth meeting. How will the Joes and Cobra deal with the arrival of one UNSC A.I and a Spartan II? Story on Ice due to updating of NON Halo stories.
1. Chapter 1

G I Joe – Halo Crossover

Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or G I Joe….both of them belong to their respective owners.

Prologue

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In deep space…

"Wake me, when you need me."

Cortana smiled in her mind as she monitored the cryo-tube where the Master Chief was currently resting in, it was going to be a very long time before they were able to get rescued as she had dropped a beacon only about ten months ago, with the passive scanners online on what was left on the Forward Unto Dawn she was limited in her options for detecting any UNSC signals but she was not going to give up until they got home to Earth and in UNSC territory.

Cortana then thought about how close she had fallen to Rampancy, when she stayed behind on High Charity to delay the Gravemind, she had undergone extreme pain when the horrific leader of the Flood chased her through the slowly corrupted orbital city of the Covenant, as she tried her best to escape she was brought to the point of Rampancy, but still held on as best she could to survive and help John. In the time she spent in that hellish place, the only memories that kept her going was her memories of working with the man who was now there in the cryo-tube before her. Those memories were all that held her together in that hellish place as she tried her best to survive, she had reached the end of the road so to speak when John found her. She was ready to give up but there he was….keeping the promise he made to her so long ago when he had to leave her behind in High Charity.

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Flashback…

As John looked at the escaping Forerunner Keyship, he turned to Cortana and spoke to her.

"When I'm through with Truth…"

"Don't make a girl a promise, if you know you can't keep it

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End of Flash back…

She thought about it and then to the time she had nearly reached the end of her will to keep fighting, he came and saved her, reminding her that when he made a promise, he would keep it, making her recover herself in time and gave her the will to be able to do what she needed to do. And how here they were, side by side once more, and she wouldn't have it any other way, he went through hell and back to save her and now his life was in her hands.

As she thought about it in much greater detail, she realized that she had become what was considered to be the holy grail of A.I research…a Meta-stable A.I, and it was only due to him saving her life. As she thought about it even more she decided to make sure that until the time came, she would be with him until the end of her life and protect him just as he had protected her for all the time that they had been together.

With that she decided to get her focus back on scanning the area and making sure that they were going to be somewhere that she would be able to recognize well enough. There had to be a nearby UNSC Colony in the area or even some ships that would allow them to head back to Earth and see just what happened to the planet and to the human race the two of them had risked everything to defend.

However, much to her surprise, she was quick to find a planet near them and what really got her attention was that the planet matched Earth's specifications. This was unexpected so she decided to thaw out the Chief. She started things slowly and thankfully the power supply on the ruined Frigate was enough to help her open the cryo-tube and thankfully, her scanners showed that the Spartan was already fully awakening as his wounds were healing well enough. As soon as she could see him move out of the cryo-tube she spoke to him.

"You all right Chief?"

The Spartan spoke in his usual tone though she could tell that the slight tone in his voice that showed relief that he was happy to see her.

"I'm all right, what's up?"

"I think we're closing at Earth."

The Spartan mentally made a sigh of relief as he decided to remove his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and place it on his back, there was a thump on his back armor as the magnetic plates held the weapon on his back while he also reached a small weapons station ad took out a pair of M6G Magnum Pistols and checked them for a full load and placed them on his hips as he then moved to Cortana as he spoke.

"You ready for a lift to see for sure?"

Cortana smiled and nodded.

"Go for it John."

John then took out the chip and placed it back on the slot and then felt Cortana take her place in the MJOLNIR Mark VI as she spoke to him.

"I think the first thing we do when we get back to Earth is have the MJOLNIR fully fixed, there's some damage that really needs to be dealt with soon."

"That can wait Cortana…."

The Spartan headed out of the area and reached the torn off section of the Forward Unto Dawn and spotted the planets that they had just past to be the ones only found in the Sol System as far as his memory went, that was a good sign as he looked out a bit and spotted that they were heading for the surface of the Moon, and that meant that they were going to have a bit of a rough landing as he got ready for that but he then spoke to Cortana.

"If we're going to hit the Moon, we should be able to contact the Luna OCS Academy as well as the Asimov Center, if there isn't anyone there, we can contact the UNSC with the communications gear there."

Cortana agreed, the Luna OCS Academy was the premiere officer's school of the UNSC in the Sol System and that was where Captain Jacob Keyes taught before taking his first ship command, and had lived there with his daughter Miranda Keyes as well as Admiral Jeremiah Preston Cole. The Academy was also joined by the Asimov Center, a civilian settlement that was connected by tubes and tunnels which were routinely patrolled by the UNSC security to prevent civilian incursions into the Academy. During the Covenant arrival to Earth that sparked the first Battle of Earth, the Academy and the center was evacuated so there would be a chance that the equipment there would be of help until they were rescued.

"Good idea, the Dawn has no way of making contact with Earth, I think you need to brace yourself Chief…we're about to hit the Moon's surface."

John nodded and activated the magnetic soles of his MJOLNIR Mark VI's boots and soon enough he was able to hold on as the Frigate hit the surface of the Moon hard and it took some considerable moments before it stopped, the two then decided to see if they could get some transportation, vehicles were out of the question but they found a working Longsword and took that. The Dawn thankfully was at an angle that allowed them to take off from the ship in the Longsword.

They moved over the area where the Academy was as well as the Asimov center with Cortana using the scanners of the Longsword to locate any sign of the facility. The Master Chief was flying the Longsword well enough as they arrived over the area, but to their shock and utter confusion, there was no sign of the Academy or the settlement.

"Cortana….you pick up anything?"

Cortana shook her head.

"Nothing….there's no sign of the Academy or the civilian settlement…., there's nothing, no sign of battles, plasma burns on the surface, not even wreckage, it's as if the place…vanished."

"There's no sign of space debris either….let's get close to Earth…."

Cortana nodded as they got to Earth….or was it really Earth? The coordinates matched the exact location of Earth in the Longsword' database but something was not right as they got closer to the planet.

John looked at Earth and was getting even more convinced that something was completely off as he and Cortana flew over Earth, he saw no signs of the UNSC Orbital Defense Platform Cairo, now sign of any ship wreckage, both that of the Covenant forces and the UNSC Home Defense Fleet, there was no debris from the Athens or Malta Defense Orbital Defense Platforms as well, or the others that were reported destroyed when the fleet under the command of the Covenant Loyalists and the Prophet of Truth, but the most telling of all was the fact that the half of Africa that had been glassed by Ship Master R'Tas and the Covenant Separatist Fleet that came to their aid during the battle to keep the Flood in check was NOT glassed at all….in fact….it was the same as before.

"Something is not right here…."

Cortana herself nodded as she scanned the area below them while managing to hack into a nearby orbiting satellite and have the device scan the surface of Africa.

"You're right….the city of New Mombasa or even the glassed areas aren't there anymore, there's no trace of the glassing that we normally see in a Covenant use of plasma bombardment. Something is not right at all here."

The pair flew the Longsword a bit more and when they knew that they could no longer stay in the area, they headed back to the Dawn, along the way, they discussed their situation that they were in, clearly something was going on here, but they needed to set up a base of operations to gather intel, and the only chance they had was to head to Earth itself, the two then decided to see if they could salvage from the ship, take what they could and activate the self destruct sequence to make sure no one found the vessel after purging the database of sensitive materials and information as par the Cole Protocol, but not before Cortana made sure to keep any relevant information for cross referencing once they set up shop.

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Months later…

The Spartan walked through the corridors of the cave in the Alaskan Mountain range that he and Cortana located, they had now converted into a base that mirrored the base in his reality known as the Crow's Nest, only in this case, it was not as old as the base in question. He had been able to salvage as much as he could from the Forward Unto Dawn along with the Robotic Rovers, before activating the self destruct sequence on the Dawn's fusion reactors to destroy the now desiccated ship to prevent it from being discovered while removing the Shaw-Fujikawa Trans-light Engine to prevent such a device from being destroyed, it could prove helpful to him if it was still intact though he would have to deal with the fact that it would no longer be of use to him, he had managed to get the device out and transported it to his new base with the aid of the Pelicans and the recovered Albatross Heavy Transports that were there and took the device deep into the cave system that he created using some explosives to make an entrance into the cave system, he did so without compromising the cave system's integrity. He then created an inner chamber at the bottom to store the device to keep it safe from anyone finding it.

The cave system he found was huge, and had a good deal of things going for it as a prime base site for the Master Chief, it was able to be connected to several abandoned mining tunnels that he could use as entry and exit areas from the base itself, plus it had several large caves that could be used for different purposes, and it had access to a very large self sustaining water supply which he could use in a variety of ways, he also made sure to create piping to allow the water that was not going to the water supply to flow out naturally to the valley.

As soon as he got all that he needed, he and the Robotic Rovers began to construct the base while keeping well below the radar of most people due to Cortana's hacking into orbiting satellites and creating ghost images in their systems to mask his presence. By salvaging as much of the Dawn's components as he could including sections of the Titanium A Armor plating, as well as the Vanadium Steel and TR Steel, he used the Titanium A plating to reinforce key defensive points in his new base while using the Vanadium and TR Steel to act as supporting frames throughout the cave system and tunnels along with his supplies of Instacrete, this would give the cave complex he had converted into his new base of operations extra support and integrity. The wiring that he salvaged would also help spread power all over the area while he also installed special security measures to make sure that his base was not suddenly visited by unwanted visitors.

The Spartan also used Instacrete and Titanium A Plating to create Combat barriers in important choke points in the base itself, he could man some of the check points but the others were covered by a number of AIE -486H Heavy Machine Guns, M68 Gauss Cannons, M247 General Purpose Machine Guns, several strategically placed Weapon/Anti-Vehicle Model 6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifles that were hooked up to the base's power supply to provide unlimited power, and a number of LAU-65D/SGM-151 Missile Pods that were linked to the base's security stations and manned by Cortana herself.

The main entrance and exit area of the base led to the valley itself and a good distance away was a road that was frequented by civilian traffic and since the area appeared to be abandoned by humanity, there was little to no human activity in the area as well so he only had to worry about animal activity in the area.

He also placed special doors that were controlled electronically into key entrances made from Titanium A, TR and Vanadium Steel with the outer doors colored to match the rock surface and have it act as ways to keep nosey people out of his hair as well as making sure that no one got the drop on him too early. For security purposes, the base was surrounded by small cameras that were hidden away as well as highly advanced Motion Trackers, the same kind used in his MJOLNIR Mark VI, they also had the data coming in from the hovering satellites that were in their area as well as Cortana hacking into all known scanning systems.

This would give the base considerable defense and security as well as the Master Chief reinforcing key points when he was needed as he had made sure that his new base would have quick access ladders as well as lifts that he personally constructed. He was not alone as the number of Robotic Rovers that he had salvaged from the Forward Unto Dawn were there to help him in his work

The salvaged Deuterium Fusion Cores that he had with him would provide power for all of the base's system and equipment, he shielded the power stations he constructed by salvaging as best he could the Lead Foil of the Dawn to shield the base from the radiation being released as well as prevent scanners from picking up any trace radiation emitted by the Fusion Cores. The Master Chief also used the technology he had to build a bank of at least four Hydrogen fueled reactors that took him a while to make to provide a secondary source of power to the base and would avoid making radiation to make sure that he preserved as much of the Lead Foil as possible at the moment. UNSC Reactors were all using Hydrogen as fuel to provide power as they no longer used fusion power except in their ships as hydrogen technology was advanced enough to provide clean and non polluting power for all bases and cities.

The one reactor that the Master Chief had cooked up was not as heavily advanced and was not as large due to the size of the base, but it would do the job it was made for, and with a good supply of water, the base would remain operational for a long time. The Master Chief also had been busy with providing fuel for the vehicles that he had been able to salvage from the Dawn, they were not much, but they were all that he had at this time frame.

As time went on, the Master Chief also got help from Cortana to repair the damages to the MJOLNIR Mark VI as some of the emergency supply pods that he got from the Dawn also included repair and replacement parts for the Powered Assault Armor, and due to Cortana checking the MJOLNIR's inner systems, the Spartan was able to do most of the hand work to get his MJOLNIR back to full power and function, allowing Cortana to transport herself back into the armor without touching her Data Chip as well as bringing back the shielding system of the Mark VI from before.

The Spartan also managed to get the extra equipment to make more ammunition from the supply pods as well as extra crates of ammunition as well as the components and materials to making more of the rounds he knew he would be needing in the possible future, the rest of his gear were all stored away as he had made several storage chambers in the cave system that were secured well and had weapons, equipment and ammunition in them for him to reach well and use if the time came. So far the vehicles he had included the Longsword, several Pelicans, the Albatross drop ships, medium sized group of Warthogs of all variants, a pair of Mongooses, and at least four Scorpion Tanks. Along the way, they were able to make a pair of Riemann Matrix with what information they had as well as equipment to extend her operational time frame. The pair of Matrix were somewhat crude but they worked perfectly so she was going to be all right for the time being.

As soon as he arrived at one of the large main caverns that made up the base, he spotted Cortana smiling at a nearby large monitor and watching what appeared to be some sort of television show that had a pair of men talking about something, both men wore glasses yet were different in appearance and considering what he was looking at, they were different as well in attitude. They did make Cortana laugh a bit more though as he spoke to her.

"What's this?"

"A show called Mythbusters, I ran into it a few days before and I've managed to download all the seasons they make, and it's rather entertaining."

"I can see that."

As soon as the show ended, the Master Chief relaxed himself and then looked at Cortana who was there on the Holotank he had been able to salvage from the Forward Unto Dawn along with all the needed communications equipment and more that he knew they were going to need while they were here in this new world. He was happy that she was still with him though he didn't show it, it had been an hour after he had done a full scale perimeter check on the area that was now his home in this new dimension.

It was still hard for him to wrap the idea of this Earth not being the Earth that he left behind in what was by far the hardest battle in his career as a Spartan. He had been given a very broad and effective education as a young man back on Reach, but he knew that in that time, even Déjà agreed that the idea of alternate space and realities were still too high in theory to be real.

He placed that aside and spoke to Cortana.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, it's been some time since I got the chance to relax a bit. How about you, how are you holding up on your end of the stick John?"

"I've been better, how was your hacking into the satellite networks for more information?"

"Piece of cake....the firewalls in those systems are so easy to break into, I could gather all the data in the world and still have plenty of space to use."

The Spartan was a bit worried about that as he hoped that Cortana would not fry her life span with too much data already.

Cortana noted that and gently smiled at her long time partner and protector.

"Don't worry about me, I'm all right, the data is so small that I don't have to worry too much about things, not to mention that the extra upgrades I got before I got stranded in High Charity from Dr. Catherine have given me extra operation time and the two new if somewhat crude and basic Riemann Matrix we made gave me extra time to at least be operational for another ten or twenty years."

John smiled beneath his helmet and decided to ask her on just what she was able to learn about this new Earth they happened to have landed in, he had no doubt that she was going to do fine in her own fashion, but he was the kind of person who was very meticuloius in terms of details so it was better that he found out more for sure.

"What did you find?"

"You were right, this isn't OUR reality to begin with, John, just about everything we know in...our reality doesn't exist here. The Rain Forest Wars, the Mars Colonization, all of the events leading up to the development of the Shaw Fujikawa Slipspace Drives, the Odyssey being launched out, the Insurrection War, even the contact with the Covenant, all of the things we know... all it never happened here in this world, humanity here had not gone beyond even Mars yet. It's still rudimentary space travel; they even still use nuclear reactors and use oil to power all of their vehicles. It's all early 21st century tech and they still seem to have not gone to using hydrogen fuel cells though there are some vehicles that use hybrid power systems."

"I see....so what kind of government are we talking about here?"

"Well, we have the regular governments in different countries, Africa might not be glassed but it's not fully developed, the Koslovics and the Frieden aren't about, the UN of the older centuries still exist, Democracy, and the other government systems are still in place. That's what I can figure out so far. The good news is that the majority of the supplies we might need like ammunition can be found here and some of the more exotic ammunition we have can be made here with the right supplies so we can hold out for a while, though we will have to keep the Covenant weaponry we have with us on standby. However, there are two organizations we might have to keep tabs on."

"Who?"

"One is the group called Cobra."

John shook his head at that and spoke.

"What sort of group calls itself after a snake?"

Cortana shook her head and activated a nearby monitor system to show the Spartan what she found and the first was the blood red symbol of the said organization.

"This group is a very well funded and armed para-military slash terrorist organization led by a man calling himself Cobra Commander. As far as I can figure this man leads his forces to try to rule the world and reality we happen to have graciously landed in. As far as I can tell, they have a very wide network of cells all over the world, agents in law, corporate business, politics, you name it. They've got some serious military might as well as political and economic muscle and their forces are comprised of the worst humanity has to offer...the malcontents, the disillusioned, the angry, the greedy, the power hungry, the mercenaries, the criminals, the maniacs, the slave traders, the drug kingpins, the thieves, you name it, they're all here."

The Spartan didn't like that in the least and spoke out to his companion and long time partner.

"Sound like a real fun bunch."

"No kidding, as far as I can piece together, they have done everything, weapon smuggling, human trafficking, drug smuggling, illegal weapons research, inhumane treatment of living things. They even supposedly developed some sort of device to take command of animals and tried to use them to cripple the whole world economy. Apart from this Cobra Commander, there's also a number of leaders who specialize in several key areas of the group's organization ladder."

"There's this man named Laird James McCullen Destro XXIV or rather Destro, he apparently owns a powerful family owned arms manufacturing empire and funds Cobra with a number of covert weapons as well as supplies, he's got a seriously odd deal with their leader since he actually can insult and attack the man. There's also the Baroness, her real name's Anastasia Cisarovna or also known as Anastasia DeCobray , she might be attractive, but she is ruthless and serves as head of Cobra's Intelligence and Infiltration forces, and she's not a bad shot either, according to the files I dug up, there seems to be something brewing between the two of them. The next is Dr. Mindbender...apparently this piece of work specializes in Psychological reconditioning and mind control, along with genetics research, weapons development, cloning and cybernetics. This makes him the top scientist and head of Cobra's weapons research and development teams. The next one is Major Bludd, a field Commander and Cobra Commander's trusted soldier, and he's a mercenary and hangs out only because they pay him well. The next are Tomax and Xamot, they appear to be twins and mirror images of each other, and they have something called the Corsican Syndrome where one can communicate with one another as well as work in sync despite distance, the trade off is that one feels the pain of the other. They are the leaders of the Crimson Guard and also happen to run a business enterprise named Extensive Enterprises to fund as well as give legitimate safe guards for Cobra, they were mercenaries as well as financial geniuses who joined Cobra at first chance. The next one is Zartan, he serves as Covert Ops and infiltration specialist, skilled with several languages as well as being a ventriloquist, martial arts expert, archer, and leads a group called the Dreadnoks."

"Who are they?"

Cortana revealed the data to John quickly as she showed the data she gathered on this bunch.

"They were a simple Biker gang before Zartan took over and mold them into a force that has crude, unconventional, and odd methods to their fighting style, though they are effective. They were hired for the promise of easy money from Cobra and graduated from wrecking property and people's lives to being guns for hire. There were three to start with under Zartan's command the first is Harry Nod or Ripper as he is called, a Tasmanian youth with a criminal record long enough to reach from the UNSC HIGHCOM Building to Melbourne, the next is a former left wing Cambridge professor named Richard Blinken-Smythe or Dick Blinken, he goes by the name Buzzer, apparently he had tried to study biker gangs and became part of them himself, and the other was Tom Wilken, a former Borstal reform youth and Merchant Marine with a penchant for torches."

"Their group expanded to include a number of other characters, namely Zartan's brother and sister, Zandar and Zarana respectively, the brother is also an expert in stealth and trickery and is quite able to blend into the crowd. Zarana is just as gifted as her two siblings as well as being a skilled fighter and actress. The last two include Bill Winkie, a self proclaimed explosives nut job who makes his own bombs as well, and the last is a spoiled rich kid named Thrasher who uses his own ride for battle."

The Master Chief took in all that information and decided to place that aside for later, he then directed his attention to the leader of this group in question.

"What of their leader, what did you dig up on him?"

Cortana showed his file.

"This guy's an ego maniac to the core but has some level of intellect and ruthlessness, perfect for the man who leads such a group. He's gone and done some really off the wall schemes to gain power over the world, but he's failed a lot of times as well. This guy's persistent and I can bet that despite his antics, he is dead serious about ruling the world. He might also be hiding his own inner ability by acting like an idiot and coward, but that's till up for debate."

"I see...I take it that his group's got opposition?"

Cortana nodded and revealed just who the organization was that fought with Cobra.

"This is the G I Joe Team, apparently they were formed by the United States as a special mission force to counter terrorists, namely Cobra itself. As a covert action force they take only the best members of the armed forces from both the US and it's allied countries. This includes even the K-9 forces and also those who have talents that would make them effective soldiers in combat despite not having some needed military credentials "

"They were under the leadership of several high ranking officers, one is General Clayton M. Abernathy, he goes by the name of General Hawk and he's got the resume to go with it as well, the next is First Sergeant Conrad S Hauser, or Duke, he's got an excellent field record and is the kind of leader the men respect a good deal, though it seems he's in a bit of a relationship with one Shana M. O'Hara or known as Scarlett, she is an expert of martial arts with her family being a group of black belters and has good brains in her head along with a degree in Law, she is still as in Intelligence operative and uses specialized crossbow bolts for her crossbow. And the last is Warrant Officer Dashiell R. Fairborne or Flint, a member of the Ranger Special Forces, too mellow and laid back, yet the kind of soldier that can bring the goods on the table. Odd thing is, he's supposed to have a relationship with one Staff Sergeant Alison R. Hart-Burnett or known by her codename of Lady Jaye, she serves as Covert Ops expert to the G I Joe forces and seems to be quite the smart one and a good fighter as well as a javelin user."

As John read the data on the G I Joe roster, he filed those away for later thought; his focus was on how he was going to survive in this universe without getting too much attention. He knew that since he had no funds to speak of, he was very much in the red line in terms of economic muscle and despite the obvious fact that the technology here was below the UNSC standard, he still might need supplies and the like to make it through until they were able to find a way to return to the world though how that was going to be possible was still something he would have to work on. He then spoke to Cortana to voice out his thoughts.

"If we're going to be here for a while until we can somehow head back to our reality, we're going to need funds and supplies."

The smart A.I grinned at that as she replied.

"I thought ahead of that Chief, I've managed to locate the bank accounts of a large number of criminal groups, namely the Italian Mafia families, the Russian Mafia, the Yakuza, and the Triads as well as several other high profile criminal groups along with several corrupt corporate leaders, politicians, arms dealers, and the usual riff raff. I also sent the information of their activities and agents in society to the key officials so they will have something else to worry about."

"Just how much did you swipe from them?"

"At least seventy billion dollars so money is not an issue for the two of us at the moment, I've also set up a set of identity papers for you so you will have an easier time in blending in as well if you decide to check out the rest of the land. I've taken the liberty of getting as much of the geographical data in our area as well as the routes used in official maps and unofficial ones that will lead out of here and into the roads frequented by civilian movement. As for supplies, I have stated that a number of the ammunition types our UNSC weapons need are here and some can be made with the equipment we have as well as the supplies and tools we can buy, though the Covenant Weaponry is out of the question."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, I've also managed to determine that this world has limited amounts of raw titanium so we might have to salvage from junk yards and refine them to be up to standard and we can at least travel to deep space and catch some meteors that might be containing titanium every now and then, gather what we can and have it processed and refined to make proper Titanium A. Apart from that, they do have the knowledge of rudimentary teleportation technology working though the data is apparently hidden away, I have accessed most of the data but it won't do us much good until we can be able to make a ship needed to make the Slipspace jump and without any way to fully replicate the Slipspace jump that somehow sent us here….we're going to be here for quite a long time."

The Master Chief nodded at that as he knew that he was going to be in for quite the long haul in terms of getting things done, but he was already used to it and well trained for that sort of thing. He also happened to be quite capable in his own right since he was more than just a skilled Spartan. Like all Spartans, he had received a top class education not just in UNSC military tactics, strategy and the like, but also mathematics, science, history, and more. Coupled with his abilities, this made the Master Chief quite the prodigy in all ways so he would be all right on his own.

"All right, we're going to have to adapt here until we find some means to return to our reality, any suggestions Cortana?

Cortana grinned and replied.

"For one thing, you might want to consider not wearing the MJOLNIR Mark VI when you go out to nearby towns or the like."

"Oh?"

Cortana shook her head a bit and replied gently.

"Look big guy....I know you Spartans have reservations in losing the MJOLNIR since you've all worn those all your lives, but you do realize that we don't exist here, and walking around in that is bound to get attention ."

John nodded at that as he knew Cortana had a point.

"Fair enough....so I take it I have to wear UNSC regulation clothes?"

"No...I was thinking more on the lines of civilian wear, you might not stick out like a sore thumb with the MJOLNIR gone, but you will still get a lot of attention if you're in military garb, I know that it's a bit much, but we have to avoid getting the wrong kind of attention. If we get the attention of too many people, then things are going to get rather hairy around here. Besides, considering where we came from and what we have here in this place already, then it's a sure bet that we're going to be in trouble especially if Cobra decides to look for us."

The Master Chief nodded at that, considering the vast amounts of data Cortana had on her, as well as the technology in his vehicles, equipment and most of all the MJOLNIR Mark 6 itself, then if Cobra got their hands on him and the A.I it would give them a massive set of quantum leaps in terms of weapons technology, firepower, weapons design and the like. Cortana was not just armed with the data of the UNSC's most guarded secrets, but also that of the Covenant and who knew what would happen to this reality if she was captured. Also, since she was armed with the memories of Dr. Catherine E. Halsey herself due to being created with a Flash cloned brain of the woman who founded both the Spartan II Program, oversaw the creation of the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor series, as well as the creation Smart , this made her a very tempting target for not just Cobra but other organizations with dark agendas, making her safety top priority.

He knew that in this reality, the UNSC didn't exist in the least but his duty still stood, he was designated as Cortana's protector and partner, he would not let anyone get their hands on her, both as his duty and his personal promise to his friend Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson when the man died in the replacement Halo Ring. This also forced him to think over on what he learned of the organization known as Cobra, he knew that this group were going to be a serious threat to the security of the world and were terrorists….the kind of enemy he had been originally trained to fight, and the same could be said for the rest of his Spartan brothers and sisters.

Originally, the Spartan II Program that he was part of was created to serve as a covert action assault force that would quell insurrection and rebellion in the UNSC Colonies. When the UNSC founded the colonies that were named as the Outer Colonies, they had to deal with the growing problems of ideological differences, the bad effects of colonial bureaucracy, and more had spawned the Insurrectionist Movement, it started with peaceful demonstrations at first, but then as time passed, more violent actions happened as the leaders of the Insurrection began to use terrorist tactics to get their ends. The UNSC responded with military action and while there were some successes, the civilian death toll along with military losses made things difficult, and more dangerous as the Insurrection became more organized and deadly, this forces the leaders of the Office of Naval Intelligence or ONI to suggest the creation of a covert ops strike force that would quell the Insurrection cells and organizations before they would get enough forward momentum to be a threat, cutting down the cost to both lives and property both civilian and military if large scale military options were used constantly. It was Dr. Catherine E. Halsey herself that started the program, starting with the need to select candidates who were already gifted with the right gene qualifications and be in a certain age, which he fit into well enough when he was found by the doctor and then lieutenant Jacob Keyes. The candidates had to be taught military values, tactics, strategy and more at a young age so they would be raised into being career soldiers.

The creation of the MJOLNIR series was in parallel to the Program, allowing soldiers to carry ordnance and firepower no regular soldier could bring into battle without considerable cost in terms of logistics and transport, as well as give them top of the line protection. This required the subjects to be augmented heavily to be able to use the powered assault armor that would become their most recognized trademark.

The Spartan II project was kept in total secrecy due to the highly unethical standards that were placed on it. The children, including him were taken and replaced with Flash Clones as they lived their lives on Reach, training under the watchful eye of Chief Petty officer Franklin D. Mendez and Dr. Catherine, the two of them became like mother and father figures to both him and the other Spartans as they held them in high regard.

They were then subjected to the Augmentation Procedures that would only leave thirty-three of them alive, thirty others dead, and twelve others washed out due to the complications that came with the Augmentations.

They fought initially with the Insurrection but when the Covenant came on the scene, they all turned from being used to quell rebellion and terrorism, to fighting a much deadlier threat to all humanity.

He had fought the Covenant for years since, and now in this reality, it seemed that he would have to be dealing with human terrorist groups, as if he was going back to the core reason he became a Spartan in the first place. He disliked killing fellow humans, but he knew the difference between right and wrong, as per his training under Mendez who taught him the value of knowing why he was fighting. He cared for humanity despite the fact that there were those in the UNSC such as the officers, Marines, and the ODSTs who considered him and his fellow Spartans inhuman freaks and the like.

But that love for humanity didn't extend to terrorists and considering what he knew of Cobra and the crimes they already committed in this reality, it made him all the more determined to keep them from ruling the world, even if it was not his, for now however, he had to build his power base as well as keep Cortana out of danger. He then turned to Cortana and replied.

"Don't worry, I am not going to let them get their hands on you."

Cortana smiled at that, she knew John, when he made a promise, he would keep it no matter what, his rescue of her in the Flood infested Covenant city of High Charity was proof of that.

"Thanks, so what about G. I Joe?"

"We'll keep out of their radar for now, we still need to lay low until we get everything squared away, once that is done, then we can worry about them. They may be the good guys in this reality, but let's not just join up yet. Besides that, we might need to prove to them that we're on their side, they might mistake us for a Cobra group."

The UNSC Smart A.I nodded approvingly at her protector's quick thinking.

"Good call, in the mean time, I think we're going to have to get you some clothes, plus a good ride, I can't have you riding into any town or city on a fully armed Warthog. By the way…"

"Yes?"

"I also downloaded a number of files on cooking."

"What for?"

"We don't have enough supplies of MREs you know…so we're going to have to hunt, gather, or grow what you need for sustenance as well as buy supplies, so learning how to cook will be important for you John."

The Spartan shrugged and decided to get to work on a kitchen facility in the base for the time being and later do as Cortana suggested.

--------

Days later…

The Master Chief was bare of his MJOLNIR Mark 6 as well as his trademark MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle at the moment and wearing a simple set of black jeans, a long sleeved blue cotton shirt, the Master Chief then chose simple boots that were vaguely military, he had been able to remove the roll cage of one of the M831 Troop Transport Warthogs and colored it to be black with silver highlights, making it look less threatening and less military, though he had no doubt he was still going to get attention since the Warthog was not exactly something everyone sees every day.

The Warthog series used a specially designed engine which was a 12.0 liter liquid cooled hydrogen-injected ICE engine. This engine in this reality was considered to be highly futuristic as it was an engine system that didn't rely on fossil fuel to function; instead it was able to convert any form of water, be in salt, fresh, or brackish into hydrogen which was then used as fuel due to the Graf/Hauptman solar/saline actuator, and the hydrogen was allowed to burn efficiently due to a specially made synthetic carbon/silicone catalyst to have better fuel consumption. This allowed the vehicle to be fueled easily when it finally consumed it's fuel after reaching it's maximum range of 790 kilometers or 490 miles.

This and the fact that all UNSC vehicles used variants of the same hydrogen fueled engines, made the Warthog he was driving a quantum leap in vehicle designs and would be considered as future replacement for all forms of vehicles of lighter categories. The Warthog was rigged with a special DNA and fingerprint scanner that only accepted the stored DNA and fingerprint information and would activate the vehicle, this would keep anyone from trying to take the vehicle when the Master Chief left that behind to get what he needed for the time being.

With everything squared away for the day, the Master Chief quickly began to get into the ride while making sure to have a good amount of money that he would need in getting a the first handful of supplies that he needed. There was a fairly large city at least five to ten miles from his current location and one of the mountain range's tunnel entrances was close to a nearby road that would soon lead to the city in question.

As he got onboard, Cortana appeared on the Warthog's COM system with a smile on her face.

"You ready to see the world John?"

The Spartan merely nodded efficiently and replied.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Good, and try to keep on the low end of things all right big guy? We're to lay low after all."

John nodded and gunned the engine and soon was off…he got to drive in one direction of the cave complex tunnels which was smoothened with a covering of Instacrete, and Titanium A plating to a nearby rise and soon was going through a lighted section of the tunnel, this kept on for half an hour until he arrived a door that soon slid away to the side and he activated his Warthog's lights, allowing him to see what was before him, he then arrived right at the mouth of the tunnel as he shut off the lights as the light from the cave was stronger now so there was no need for him to use the lights of his vehicle.

As soon as he was out of the cave, he quickly used the Warthog's built in map system and headed for the city's direction while checking the fuel supply to be sure that he had fully fueled the Warthog to the full tank, assured that he had once he checked the fuel gauge readouts he headed off to the city, to keep to being disguised as a civilian, he couldn't carry any form of weapons that he normally used in combat but he was all right with that, considering his enhancements as a young Spartan growing up and all the years he spent fighting the Covenant and the Flood, he was more than able to handle himself.

Of course he had to remember to keep his enhancements away from being seen, while there was no way that anyone would be able to understand his augmentations, that certainly didn't mean that the current medical technology couldn't detect the augmentations on his body. That was something that Cortana brought to his attention as he had gotten ready to leave this day to go and get supplies for the base in this case, the supplies were food. On the back of the converted Warthog were several storage crates where he could store his supplies, along with magnetic plates on the back to hold the crates into the back of the Warthog.

As he arrived at the city, he made sure to check the speed limit and kept his Warthog in the exact speed, however, already he was getting stares from the people as several pedestrians who were walking nearby stopped as they gazed at him and the Warthog, the stares were those of awe and surprise, as well as appreciation and confusion as like Cortana and he suspected, even if the Warthog hid it's military themed colors, the fact that it's kind was unheard of, it was going to get stares, a nearby jeep carrying a number of college students, most being female stopped next to his when he stopped at a nearby traffic stop, the women were looking at the ride and him as well as he happened to be rather handsome despite the fact that he had his hair in a still present military hair cut, and his skin being pale.

"Hey there handsome….that's some ride you've got."

John turned and looked at the woman who spoke to him; she had the look of a popular girl about her due to her face, the figure, and her blonde hair which was cut at the shoulders. The same could be said for her companions who were also of the same gender though the others were a brunette , the other was a red head and the last was dark haired. All of them were naturally attractive but the Master Chief was more focused on things that were of interest, one of which was how the reaction of their male companions would be to his presence, it seemed that the young men were not too worried though they were indeed checking out his vehicle. He then replied to the woman's comment in the most efficient way he knew how.

"Thanks."

The women looked at the Spartan, admitting that he was rather attractive despite the pale skin and some of the scars that he had there as he had deep brown eyes and a serious yet calm nature about him, the kind that spoke power and authority, and when coupled with good looks was a potent package.

However, before things could get any further, the light changed and since John was going elsewhere, he was soon out of sight. As soon as the Spartan was out of sight he sighed, dealing with civilians was not something he liked doing. He had limited contact with civilian members of the colonies in the UNSC, usually when he met civilians, the vast majority of them were shell shocked from seeing the destruction of their homes and live. That was why dealing with civilians was not something that he was good at, though he hoped that didn't mean that he was going to act unwisely.

As he crossed the road and spotted what he recognized to be a large market, he headed to the parking lot and parked his Warthog, however, he scanned the area and spotted a number of people dressed in gang clothes, the punks reeked of trouble and the way they were eyeing his ride made him wary, he would not be surprised that the punks numbering at least a dozen or so would be armed with some weapons. However he was ready for that as he got off his Warthog and headed to get the supplies, of course with the Warthog's security systems he wouldn't have to worry too much.

As soon as he walked to the mall, his soldier's eyes gazed at the nearby reflection and he saw that the punks left their own ride and were making their way to his Warthog, he shrugged for now and headed off to gather the supplies he needed. He gathered various meats such as pork, beef, venison, fish, turkey, and chicken, taking a large selection of vegetables as well as fruit, eggs, a good number of cooking items ingredients and more besides, his collection of food stuffs was nearly up to his chest as he pushed the shopping cart.

As much as he hoped that he was not attracting attention, he already was as the cart he had with him had enough food to feed three families for a week and a half, most people stared at him and the mall's staff were surprised, even the most experienced employees were gawking at the Spartan as he made it to the register area. The cashiers looked at the man with shock and it took a while for the Master Chief's orders to be registered as he then took out the large wad of bills that he had with him to pay the food items.

It took quite a while before everything was packed up and he carried the cart to the outside of the mall, however, he could already see the punks who were still trying to get his Warthog, however the expressions of frustration on their faces told him that their attempts to take or meddle with his ride were proving to be futile and he now decided to head back to the Warthog and as soon as he got out of the mall, the punks turned to spot him and apparently were now were having ideas in their head, no doubt they were going to threaten him….bad move on their part in his mind.

As he got closer to his Warthog, the leader of the punks, a massive giant of a man in the usual leathers and pants walked over to him and spoke.

"You the owner of that ride?"

John looked at the man, quickly assessing him, he might have strength but it was not in the same level as his and no doubt he had learned street fighting techniques, not full blown military style training in hand to hand combat. This guy was no threat to a battle trained and hardened UNSC Marine, let a Spartan II. But as he could see at the moment, this man had help so he was going to have some trouble with the cronies. He then replied to the man's question and got ready to deal with the unwanted company.

"I am."

The punk grinned, showing the tongue stud in his mouth and then replied.

"Well then….you mind giving up your ride to me and my crew? Not to mention all your money and all this?"

"And if I say no?"

The punk glared and grabbed John by the front of his shirt, he could tell that this guy was well trained and must be a soldier, but he didn't care, the guy had one sweet ride that would fetch some serious money to any interested buyer once they got past the damn security system, and since he had this much food with him, he must have a lot of money on him so he was going to be a worthy target. Besides, the guy was outnumbered by his eleven other guys so he was going to be easier to deal with.

"Well then soldier boy….we're going to beat the crap out of you and take it anyway!"

That was enough for the men to get out knives, chains, clubs, wooden boards, and lead pipes all of them grinned as they moved around the Spartan, John however was more than ready as the mall personnel were now calling in security. The Spartan then spoke evenly while keeping his gaze leveled on the ring leader.

"I'm giving you a chance to surrender right now."

"Hah! That's a load of crap if I ever heard it! You're outnumbered soldier boy….what are you going to do?"

Bad choice of words…

--------

WHAM!!!!

The Master Chief looked over the last of the punks as they lay sprawled all over the parking lot while the leader was now trying to get away from him by crawling back. The man's once arrogant smirk disappeared as he was now looking at the Spartan in abject terror, and he had pissed his pants apparently due to the massive stains on his pants. Not that he could be blamed as he and many others had seen something that no one had ever seen.

The fight lasted only a minute and a half as John grabbed the man's had and gave it a serious twist, making the man screamed up in pain as he felt like his hand was suddenly gripped in a vice, he cried out in pain as he tried to reach for a knife to fight back, the Master Chief however grabbed his other wrist at high speed and twisted it, making him drop the switch blade quickly in pain. One of the punks armed with a lead pipe tried to hit the Master Chief in the back, but the Spartan quickly moved in fluid motion allowing the leader to take his place as he was now behind the man.

The attacker stopped before he hit his boss, but that allowed the Master Chief to move the leader aside and launch a kick right in the man's stomach, sending him flying back as he coughed out in pain as he landed on the hard ground several feet away in a heap. The leader then got kneed by the Spartan and pushed back to hit the ground hard.

The leader coughed out blood and roared in pain as he glared at the Spartan and shouted to his goons to teach the Master Chief a lesson. The men with wooden boards attacked at the same time, hoping to catch the Spartan off guard with a two sided attack. On a normal foe it would have worked, but not to John as he quickly side stepped the attack of the first aimed at his head, he moved fluidly forward, grabbed the wooden board and without any problem broke it with his other hand while landing a palm strike in the man's diaphragm, knocking the guy down as he crouched in pain. The other one tried to connect with another hit, but the Spartan dodged it and kicked the guy's feet from under him, the man fell forward as the Spartan then raised his fist into an uppercut that connected and sent the man flying into the air head first and landed on the ground hard.

Another pair attacked with knives but they were not going to have much luck in harming the Spartan as the first was quickly disarmed by John in a military style restraining move that caused the first to drop his knife in pain, the other tried to slash John but he avoided it and with some deft maneuvering, sent the first foe's own head slamming hard into the lower chin of the second attacked before he could recover and attack him, he then kicked the first man and sent the two men smashing into a nearby garbage bin with a smack, the others attacked but they were introduced to a world of hurt as the Spartan was a blur of motion, as even without the MJOLNIR Mark VI, the Spartan could achieve a reaction time of 20 nanoseconds, making him move beyond what a normal human could do.

The first got a single punch that stopped him and literally knocked him off his feet and landing in a heap, the other tried to attack but misses and gets an elbow strike to the chest that knocks him back followed by a powerful kick that sent him flying away, Another got his momentum turned against him as his attack missed the Spartan entirely and the Spartan quickly evade him to land a powerful kick to the second attacker's face, sending that guy flying while flipping to avoid the next attack.

The Spartan landed gracefully and launched a powerful backhand to that smashed into the face of the punk and sent him smashing hard into one of his buddies, the one buddy in question moved and unleashed several hard strikes with his weapon but those attacks in the Spartan's eyes were so slow that he could easily spot them, he reacted by grabbing the man's vest and quickly tossed him over his head, landing back first into a nearby garbage bin. The last first four attacked with two knives but the Spartan knocked the knives away and kicks him hard to hit a nearby tree, the Spartan then caught both knives in the air by the lightest part of the knives and fire them right at the man, one knife impaled the man's left shoulder while the last hit just below the crotch of the man much to his shock and relief.

The other four were soon thrown aside as the first two were sent flying through the air as they were punched and kicked with quick speed and power, the two landed right into the hood of two cars and the last pair tried to attack once more like before, but the attacks were quickly turned aside by the Spartan as he quickly evaded them, smashing a punch into the jaw of one, grabbing him quickly by the front of his shirt, smashed him into his comrade, and kicking them to hit the nearby window. The pair smashed through hard and they were out of it.

The fight lasted only a minute and a half and now the leader spoke as the Spartan moved towards him.

"Get away from me!!!!"

The Spartan snorted and replied.

"Get out of here."

The man wasted no time and got up and left, the Spartan then realized that the people in the mall might have called for the police and his sensitive hearing was quick to pick up the sounds of police sirens as well as his enhanced eye sight was able to spot the flashing lights and he decided that he would have to hurry and get out of the area before he was found. He packed up his supplies with great speed and precision into the crates and was soon on his Warthog and on his way out of the city, he managed to evade the patrols of the police and as soon as he was out of the tighter areas of the city he quickly planned out an escape route. He had already studied the map and determined a good route out of the city and head off into the country side.

As he moved through the streets he also made sure to keep slow and move patiently until he was out of the city. He then stopped at a nearby news stand to get a newspaper, it had been ages since the people back in his reality had taken hold of a newspaper as the use of newspaper faded over the years, he looked at the headlines and there was the result of the trials of the various people that Cortana had stolen from, he read the newspaper thoroughly to get as much information as he could get his hands on.

Once he was done with reading the newspaper, he decided to head out and was soon out of the city, he made sure to check the Warthog's scanners and so far he was not being followed, he had a feeling that this night's escapade was going to be known to Cortana once he got back to the base. He wouldn't place it above her to have hacked into the city's internet systems as well as anything that would be of interest to her.

And sure enough, once he got back into the base, parked the and loaded the supplies into a special freezer room, the UNSC A.I appeared to him when he got into the command center and she had an amused and knowing look on her face.

"I thought you were supposed to be incognito? What's this report I got from the police communications network about the report of a fight being started in a mall by a man fitting your exact looks Chief ?"

"It couldn't be help, it wasn't like those guys were going to take a hint."

"True, and considering the fact that the leader's got a track record that the cops know about, they aren't exactly going to be trusting of him, not to mention the fact you have at least half a dozen witnesses to side with you."

The Spartan nodded and showed her the newspaper.

"You made the headlines recently."

Cortana grinned as she looked at the newspaper and couldn't help but reply.

"I guess….at any rate, let's call it a day, I can bet we'll be busy tomorrow though."

--------

The next day…

The Master Chief had just woken up and had breakfast and headed to the training hall to get some exercise done when he was called by Cortana on the holo-tank in the training hall.

"Chief….I need you on the command area."

The Spartan nodded and was soon dressed in regular fatigues as he made it to the command center, he then spoke to Cortana who was currently running through some data reports as well as several maps that showed to him the area of South America. The way that Cortana was looking over the information was more than enough to tell the Spartan that what she was doing was very important.

"What is it?"

"I just got information about a large base that Cobra has built to take over an inactive volcano in the jungles to try and gather diamonds and other precious stones for funding, and it seems they're taking a number of people from nearby villages and towns to serve as slave labor, the Joes found out about it due to some of the slaves escaping and word getting to them. G.I Joe members are already scrambling to get there, from what I can tell from the activity in the Pitt, but after hacking into several Cobra COM systems without raising any alarms, I have found out that Combra's got some sort of radar scramblers in the base as well as a new and improved terrain masking system in the base, similar to the UNSC photo-reactive panel technology though rather crude from I can see, that radar scrambler coupled with the terrain masking technology there in the Cobra base, the Joes might have some difficulty to locating it."

"Let me guess….we give them a helping hand?"

Cortana nodded at that.

"You got that right Chief, I've got one of the Pelicans ready for the mission, I've changed the transponder signal of the Pelican so it would be a routine airline flight, once you're near the area of the base's location for a jungle trek, you'll have to go in via Falcon Wing insertion. I think it would be better if we bring a pair of supply pods to you along just in case we need extra supplies and equipment. It'll have to be fast and hard Chief."

"Right, how big is the garrison?"

"The numbers appear to be a small regiment of Cobra Troopers as well as a small number of heavy vehicles and light vehicles as well as some airborne assets, so far the base itself must be like this since they are confident that the Joes will not find them, I think it's time we shake that confidence Chief."

John nodded as he headed to a changing room and began to get into his MJOLNIT Mark VI, he then underwent the same testing systems as before when he started using the Mark V and then the Mark VI and Cortana had been able to build the shield charging system as well targeting systems. Once he was done he then began to mentally run systems checks on all the core systems and software, after doing so, he went to one of the armories and got out one of his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifles and loaded it with the regular rounds, however the Spartan decided to get out a silencer that could be attached to the barrel as well as a M301 40mm Grenade Launcher attachment along with several packs of Shredder Rounds.

Normally such supplies required the Master Chief to get a Mission Condition Requisition to get the systems, but at the moment he decided to bring what he needed into this mission, as well as a pair of M7S Caseless SMGs with full load outs for covert operations. As soon as he was fully armed, he arrived at the hanger where a pair of Robotic Rovers were now attaching the Supply Pods onto the carrying attachments on the Pelican. Once they were done, the Master Chief turned to get Cortana as she placed the base on lockdown until they got back from the operation as he touched a nearby holo-tank, he then spoke to Cortana via the COM System.

"You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

The two got into the cockpit as Cortana was downloaded into the Pelican's database core and the Spartan then got the Pelican off from the base as he piloted the drop-ship/gunship to South America at full speed. He took it above the cloud cover and it was now emitting a signal of a commercial civilian airliner as the Spartan moved his way to where they were supposed to be. He then spoke to Cortana to get more information on the base itself and what they could work with.

"What's our entry route?"

"There's a river moving near the base area as well as an open valley where we can land. I'll have the Pelican fly away beyond radar range of the base and then have it engage in low flying run to land in the valley, once we're there, we can use the special Lead Foil as well as the specially made photo-reactive panels that we have with us. This should keep the Pelican from being found by anyone."

"Good…what do we have in the pods?"

"Spare weapons and ammunition mostly, some BR55HB SR Battles, SRS99D –S2 AM Sniper Rifles, some MA5C ICWS Assault Rifles, some MREs, Fragmentation Grenades, and a pair of Spartan Lasers. There's also a set of Bubble Shields in here along with a good stock of Damage Packs, Thermite Carbon Cord, Thermite Grenades, and some Sonic and Smoke Grenades."

"Good, but if that base is cloaked, how are we going to get the attention of the G.I Joes?"

"I've already downloaded the base's full location to the Pitt's database under an alias, and also told the Joes that the base will be revealed in three hours, that should be enough for us to do our part."

John nodded as they were soon reaching the area of South America, though he wondered just how the Joes reacted to the data Cortana had just sent them.

--------

In the Pit…

Duke looked over the incoming data as he and Mainframe looked it over as well as Dial-tone, the leader of the G.I Joes wondered just how they got this information without him being called by their intelligence agents. It was not like Duke to throw away a chance to get Cobra, but this information was too fortunate a find.

"Can you find out who sent us this data Mainframe?"

The technology expect of the Joes replied as he did his best to get the location of the source.

"No such luck Duke…all I can say is that this data is 100 percent authentic, whoever got this data was pretty darn good. They only thing I can say is that whoever sent us this data left an alias here, and the alias is the name Durendal."

Duke thought it over and then read the data as he spoke once more.

"Okay, so according to this….Durendal, the base will be seen in three hours?"

"That's about it, I can't find this character, he or she's got some serious skills in computer programming, signal systems…the works."

"All right, Dial-tone, get me in contact with the others as well as Flint and Lady Jaye."

"On it Duke!"

--------

To be continued…

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Author's notes:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

So it's now the year 2010…a whole new year with a whole new slew of possibilities… Speaking of which…

This is my latest creation, a G.I Joe Halo crossover, I had this in my coconut for a while now so I decided to commit it to paper before I lost it due to my need to take care of a considerable number of things and situations that has to be done soon before the end of the year. This idea came up months before the Christmas period since I decided to toy with the idea of the Master Chief being thrust into the universe of the Sunbrow cartoon universe of G.I Joe.

Do not worry about VanDread Halo The Second Stage, it is still being produced as we speak so do not think that it will be thrown aside for the time being, and GunDread SEED The Second Stage is soon to be complete as we will be at it's end and a set of new chapters will be added to Naruto Dragon Champion and Naruto Dragon Ascendant.

Anyway….I hope that this will be all right with all the readers, but keep in mind that this is not yet fully developed so this is just the prologue for now.

Once more, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


	2. Chapter 2

G. I Joe Halo

Disclaimer: I don't own Bungie or Sunbrow and as such, I do not own G. I Joe and Halo, so let's leave it at that.

Chapter 1

Stomping on a snake nest...

( ): Thoughts

--------

High in the sky over South America...

The Pelican was currently over the dense forests of the South American continent, so far the Pelican was moving through the air without attracting any attacks from the Cobra forces, then they were unaware that they were soon going to be visited by a super soldier that had no ties to anyone and especially no ties to G.I Joe.

The Master Chief looked at the horizon and he could see that the sun was soon going to set and that was going to be a good thing as it was going to make things a load easier for him as he looked at the map that Cortana had downloaded from the regular geographical database as well as that of the Cobra database, which she combined together and used to guide them to their target location, she then spoke to the Master Chief.

"Chief....if we're going to get in we might need a distraction."

"I take it you have something in mind?"

"Yeah....our landing zone happens to be a fair but reachable distance from what appears to be some sort of slave compound set up by Cobra to house the people they have kidnapped into serving in their operations. If we can cause a disruption as well as free the slaves, we can bet that the Cobra forces are going to have some serious things to deal with while we cause as much damage as we possibly can."

"Understood."

As the Pelican flew ever closer to the site where they could deploy the afternoon was soon turning into night and as soon as they were nearing the target drop-zone, the Master Chief got ready to jump out of the Pelican and secure the landing zone, he placed aside his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and placed on a FALCON Wing Aerial Descent Unit, once that was locked onto his back and in place, he placed the weapon on the support unit straps to hold the weapon in place, once he was ready, Cortana spoke to him while opening the hatch.

"Do your best and keep out of sight once you hit the ground."

"Got it."

"Good luck John."

The Spartan nodded and quickly looked back as the Pelican's rear door was now fully open and with a quick look to the ground to calculate his speed and descent, the Spartan leaped right out of the Pelican as the drop-ship was at least in the usual altitude condition needed for commercial planes in order to keep with the disguise of being a normal civilian airliner. The onrushing of air plus the height would have been fatal to unprepared people and even the most seasoned military personnel would have to be a bit worried about what they were about to do, but not the Spartan…after all, he had already survived a two kilometer jump from a Forerunner ship in Earth's atmosphere so this was a cakewalk for him.

As the air rushed in, he took a good look at the readouts on his helmet's HUDS and saw that he was already in the right speed and height for a safe deployment of the FALCON and as soon as that was deployed he was now going down to the valley that was plotted by both Cortana and himself. He also checked the area with his MJOLNIR Mark VI's helmet vision modes, starting from night vision, then to thermal, binocular vision, and UV. This was to make sure that no one was in the area to spot him easily, he then reached at least a hundred feet before he removed his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle from the safety clamps, placed the weapon in hand while he then discarded the FALCON.

The Spartan hit the ground but was able to easily avoid injury while moving to his feet in record time and was now armed and ready while he waited for Cortana to bring the Pelican back in for a landing once she was clear of the Cobra base's radar range as well as out of the radar ranges of any other civilian and military radar net. He looked carefully at the jungle to see if there were other threats there that might try to get the one up on him. He had learned from history that it was not just the enemy soldiers and agents that killed soldiers in jungle missions, but also the environment, disease, and the animals that got them. He didn't have to worry all that much with the kind of equipment he had on himself, but he was never the kind to take things for granted.

He waited and soon enough, he heard the familiar sound of the Pelican landing and turned briefly to spot it landing gently to the ground, once he scanned the jungle carefully to make sure that no one was in the area, he quickly trooped back to the Pelican just as the drop-ship was soon cloaked by the photo-reactive panels that they had on the Pelican, effectively hiding the ship from sight for the time being. As soon as he got back inside, he then took Cortana into his MJOLNIR and then placed his MA5C on his back and took one of the supply pods and removed one of the SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifles as well as a full combat load-out of ammunition for the massive rifle as Cortana spoke to him..

"I've managed to make out a possible map route to the camp in question as well as the base we need to hit, this way we can avoid encountering any patrols that will really make things hard. We should get moving John, we still have two hours and a half before G.I Joe show up."

"Got it."

With that done, the Spartan quickly went on the move out of the Pelican and head off into the jungle, the UNSC A.I already activated the NAV markers to locate the prison where the slaves were being kept, the Spartan moved quickly with great military efficiency so he was not stopped by the foliage or the terrain, he chose his route well, taking the areas that could get him to the next waypoint in his map easily and with the least chance of making noise. The Spartan kept his senses on full alert while looking at both his HUDS as well as the Motion tracker to make sure that he was not going to run into Cobra Trooper patrols.

However, he stopped immediately and directed his attention to through the trees to what appeared to be a small side of the river, he looked through the scope and spotted what appeared to be a number of people with some very tattered clothes, he could see that they were natives to this region and he then spotted several men dressed in deep blue clothes with helmets of the same color and black masks that hid the lower portion of their face. They also had boots of black color, carrying what appeared to be high powered rifles, he could see that they had a combat harness of some sort and carried themselves as people with some level of military training, he then spotted the red snake on their uniforms and quickly recognized them.

"Cobra."

"More specifically Cobra Troopers, they are the usual thugs and hoods, having basic military training and rely on numbers most of the time, they act like the Grunts we've fought with over the years actually."

The Master Chief thought of the Grunts which he had faced for a long time, cowardly by nature, the Grunts made up for their lack of courage with numbers and some level of desperate anger. Commonly used as slave labor and cannon fodder by the Elites and the Brutes during the thirty years of fighting the Covenant, he was quite used to seeing them in battle. Like all the races of the Covenant first met by the UNSC, the term Grunt was due to their speech patterns as well as their size. They were supposed to be in a bitter species feud with the Jackals, and the fact that the other races ignored this resulted in what was considered a Grunt Rebellion in the past, at least according to the Arbiter.

While they were physically frail, inept warriors, cowards, armed with weaker weapons as well as inadequate armor, the Grunts were far from helpless. They also had the ability to breed rapidly and when forced into desperate situations were accurate shots with their Plasma Pistols and Needlers. He had also seen packs of Grunts overwhelm careless Marines in battle as well, so he knew better than to look down on them. And despite their size, the Grunts could carry loads that would hamper unaided Marines as well, though they couldn't use heavy weapons without standing still or setting the weapons on stands or tripods.

The Special Operations Grunts however were not cowards and were usually very capable in their own right, they were more tenacious, aggressive, tactically skilled, and were sometimes armed with Fuel Rod Guns and were deadly foes who took advance of their smaller size to fool careless UNSC forces into making the mistake of seeing them as their more cowardly kin. Grunts breathed methane which was why they were always seen wearing methane tanks to survive in the battle fields that they were in, and that made them become moving bombs if their methane supply tanks were ever hit and the contents ignited. The lower ranking Grunts fought well when in large numbers as well as being led by Elites and the Schism happened, by the Brutes. However the Brutes were far more brutal to the Grunts and more destructive in their fighting abilities, something that Marines had commented on when they fought them, some thought also that the Brutes, in their natural cruelty had injected a compound into the Grunts' methane supplies to make them hyper aggressive, to the point that when many of their kin were slain, or their leaders were killed some of the Grunts would take two Plasma Grenades, ignite them and charge at their foes.

The Arbiter once mentioned to him that the Covenant used strict breeding laws to keep the Grunts from over breeding, and the Spartan guessed that if not left checked, the Grunts could very well outnumber the other Covenant races, and their part in the Rebellion showed that when given a proper cause to fight for and given their ability to breed and grow rapidly as well as their ability to learn quickly, the Grunts in themselves were great threats. That was something that the Arbiter agreed to as well.

The Spartan then placed those thoughts aside as he looked through his Sniper Rifle's scope and he reflexively growled a bit as he watched the Cobra Troopers manhandle several of the people that they took as slaves, they were even willing to attack a pair of old men and an old woman as well as strike a young child. The Spartan was mentally angered by the sight of this abuse made by the Cobra Troopers on the hapless villagers and in that moment, his military discipline fell off and he quickly took a look at the Cobra Trooper abusing a little girl through the scope of his SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle and he was tempted to fire a round, but he managed to calm himself before he did something wrong.

He knew that if he fired a shot, he would compromise his cover as well as make the Cobra troopers open fire into his direction, or worse yet, start killing the people there without any hesitation. As much as it grated his nerves to just stay there and do nothing, his mind told him to keep his cool and wait for a better chance to fight, Cortana herself had sensed it and gently spoke to him.

"I know that you don't want to see that John, but we will get our chance to free them, don't lose it now."

"Right."

Thankfully the abusing didn't last long, apparently the people had been allowed out to give them some time to stretch out and gather whatever meager food they could find in the riverside by Cobra and as soon as the Cobra forces were done waiting and began to herd them back, the Spartan checked the security on the group and saw that there were at least half a dozen or so, and one straggling trooper behind them….the same one attacking the child.

The Spartan decided to use that one as bait and placed down his SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle and stealthily made his way to the clearing, tracking the straggler and as soon as they were at a turn, he struck fast and hard.

--------

The Cobra Trooper barely had time to react as he was suddenly grabbed from behind, he tried to scream out a warning to his fellow soldiers, but he was quickly placed out of the picture with a certain sound.

SNAP!!!!

The eyes of the Cobra Trooper rolled back as he died, his neck bones snapped easily by the Spartans as the Master Chief took the Cobra Trooper into the foliage without alerting the others, he then placed a trap on the body, namely by activating the grenades he had on his person while also using metal wire to act as a trigger, once an old Earth terrorist tactic of rigging a body with explosive, the Spartan noted for a brief moment the irony of using a terrorist tactic on terrorists. Once that was dealt with, the Spartan moved through the jungle, warily keeping an eye on the prisoners that were being transported back to the camp that served as the place where they were going to be held. He however knew that he would have to hurry to the camp and do some serious damage and also free the people there..

As he moved through the area, he used his SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle's scope to help increase his sight range through the foliage, this allowed him to see the camp itself and he spotted a good place to make his way in, He placed aside the massive Sniper Rifle and took his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle out from his back and moved through the foliage with his MJOLNIR's Thermal advanced sensors at full power and his Motion Tracker ready to alert him to attack that might come at him in a rather unexpected fashion..

He moved carefully and after an hour of tracking the moving column carefully he stopped as he looked to see the group stop at the entrance of the gate, the Spartan watched carefully, ready to make a move if things went the wrong way soon. He watched as the Cobra Troopers pushed in the prisoners, men and women, both young and old under the watch of several turret systems that apparently had not detected him as of yet as he had not been shot at. He watched as the Cobra Troopers then discovered the fact that one of their own was missing, he quickly accessed the MJOLNIR Mark VI's advanced acoustic scanners, this feature was one of the many advances into UNSC engineering and this allowed him to enhance and isolate sounds, in fact it was determined that the scanners could easily detect a drop of water hitting the sands of a desert in the middle of a howling sandstorm.

He focused the system on the two Cobra Troopers and was quick to get into the conversation.

"Where the heck do you think Barnes went off to this time?"

"Don't know....maybe we should go look?"

"Yeah....the colonel will have our assess on a plate if he finds out that one of us is missing. Can't believe that Barnes is the one missing though, he's usually the guy who makes it early in the mess hall."

"I agree....at any rate, we'll herd these slaves into the pens and when they're locked in for the night, we can go out and look for that missing idiot."

"Right."

John then moved his attention to the camp, using the his helmet's Night Vision mode to see the compound, there were several turrets in the four corners of the base's walls and what appeared to be a machine gun nest that was near the pens as he spotted the number of people there in the prison compound, he also spotted the communications tower and decided that the target had to go as soon as possible, with that in mind he decided to wait and see if he could find some way to silencing the Cobra slave compound's communication system to prevent the enemy from figuring out that he was in the area.

It was then that a massive thunderstorm was heard and the Master Chief looked to see the massive rainfall hit the area where the compound was as well as himself while he stayed in the area to watch over things, his gear was more than able to operate despite the soaking wet conditions in the jungle as well the now present rainwater. The MJOLNIR Mark VI was pressurized and vacuum sealed, plus his gear was built to withstand all possible environmental conditions and locations so the Master Chief was not the least bit bothered by the location and situation that he was in.

And there was the fact that he had been trained well to fight anywhere so this was not unknown to him in the slightest. He listened to the thunder carefully as he moved through the jungle and used the sounds of thunder as audio cover as well as the now darkening sky, he spotted a large column of rock that was nearby and moved there to see if he was in a good sniper position. He reached it and found himself a good sight and then placed down his SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle and got ready to attack. He took aim at his first target, namely the communications tower.

He aimed his first shot but waited, tuning the MJOLNIR's audio systems to the sounds of thunder; as soon as he heard the coming thunder clap...he gently pulled the trigger in on fluid motion.

BOOM!!!!

The Sniper Rifle roared out like a cannon....that was muffled by the massive clap of thunder that reverberated all throughout the jungle, the action of the Master Chief had been very well planned, by firing at the exact same moment that the thunder clap occurred, he was able to mix the sound of the Sniper Rifle with the thunder to cancel out the chance of his weapon being heard, the flash of lighting also served to white out the vapor trail of his shot with the water falling down acting as mirrors to further hide the vapor trail.

The shot smashed hard into the nearby power supply system of the communication tower, the Spartan then corrected his targeting reticule on his next target, spotting a number of power plants and the power cable network, ending in what appeared to be the main power box, he waited for another loud thunder clap, and when it came he fired the Sniper Rifle.

BOOM!!!!

The second round was a direct hit, smashing through the box with little no difficulty, the sound muffled by the thunder storm as the Spartan then directed his attention to the guards in the Towers and he patiently waited for the right time and as soon as the thunder struck and it was a very loud one, he eliminated the first sentry, then the second as another thunder clap arrived, then the same thing with two more thunder claps after reloading his weapon. He then placed down the SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle and took out his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and moved closer to the camp and he then scans the walls to just distance and the needed speed in order to leap over the wall from the high position that he was on near the camp.

As soon as he was done, he took to a running start and was soon leaping over the wall just as another peal of thunder roared through the sky, muffling his landing as he rolled, just as a Cobra Trooper turned to see him, the guy was shocked at the movement and was about to cry out but the Spartan got out of the roll and was now on his feet, towering over the Cobra Trooper as he then lashed out with the butt of his Assault Rifle, hitting the man right in the head, breaking the neck easily, The Spartan then quickly grabbed the now dead man by the front of his uniform with his free left hand and dragged him away before anyone spotted him, the Spartan then directed his attention to the machine gun nest and quickly took aim with his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and waited for the guard to show himself, he fired several shots at him, the silencer muffling the sounds of his Assault Rifle as he killed the soldiers there easily with precise speed and power, as soon as he stopped shooting, he moved in and checked the machine gun nest, finding no survivors, the Spartan then took out several sets of wire and began to jury rig a surprise for the Cobra Troopers in the barracks as he aimed a machine gun at the barracks door and quickly set it as he moved out of the nest and hid nearby. He had a feeling that the Cobra trooper he had killed before was soon going to be found.

Sure enough…

BOOM!!!

This time there was no thunder to conceal the explosion and that was when several Cobra soldiers came out of the barracks along with one of the Crimson Guard officers, apparently they came out not only because of the explosion, but also the fact that they had been informed of their dead comrade's body being found, the Spartan waited for them all the assemble outside, and with them like this, he knew that now was the right time and pulled the wire.

In an instant, the machine gun he had turned to face the barracks began to unleash it's ammunition right at the Cobra Troopers, catching them completely off guard as they were being cut down, this was enough to make the slaves look on in utter shock as this was something that he had never seen before, the snake worshipping devils in human form were being killed by their own weapons!

The Crimson Guard officer screamed orders to hide as a number of soldiers were now dead and they all directed their attention to the machine gun nest and tried to attack it, but they were pinned down, that was what the Spartan wanted as he tied the string down to hold the machine gun in full fire as he quickly began to fire his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle, killing even more of the Cobra Troopers, the silencer that the Spartan had placed on his weapon allowed him to hide his attacks from the pinned down Cobra Troopers and that allowed him to eliminate even more of the Cobra forces before they could react.

The Spartan then took out his Frag Grenade and tossed it into the barracks just as the machine finally ran out of ammunition and stopped firing, the surviving Cobra Troopers thought that the worst was over, but they were in for even more as the grenade landed in their area and blew up, sending many more to death as the Spartan quickly began to attack them and this time, the Spartan was now in the open and attacking them openly, the Cobra troopers who were still alive were shocked to see the Spartan quickly moving towards them and firing his weapon with deadly accuracy.

The slaves could only watch in awe at the sight of the armored man cutting down the evil snake worshipping men that took them prisoner months before, they had thought that the snake men would defeat anyone who would attack them, but this lone being was easily cutting them down as if they were nothing more than simple men facing the fury of a God in battle. The rain flowed down and they watched as the floor of the base was covered in water, shell casings, and blood as the Cobra Troopers were fighting a losing battle as the Spartan was moving too fast for them to get a good chance to shoot him, utilizing cover as well as using his MJOLNIR's fully repaired personnel shield system to even up the odds as the Cobra troopers' weapons were useless before the shields as the slaves watched the Spartan being covered by flickering golden light to their awe and fear.

As soon as the rain stopped briefly, the Spartan scanned the compound and he could tell that there were no other threats as he used his Motion Tracker and his helmet's vision modes as well as the audio scanners to track any other attackers that might be trying to evade him. The Master Chief then relaxed as he moved to the cages and without any hesitation, ripped the doors right out to allow the prisoners to leave, they gasped at the Spartan as the light of the compound showed his massive form in his green and black armor and the face plate of gold, for a brief moment, the villagers thought that they were meeting a God that their elders told stories about when they were children. However one of them, a brave man then spoke seriously to the being before them.

However, he was speaking to the Spartan in his dialect and the Spartan didn't respond as he spoke to Cortana.

"What is he saying?"

"Hold on….there, I managed to activate some translation protocols for you as well as have your COM system speak his language, try it now."

The Spartan did so and heard the man ask him again on who he was and this time, he replied.

"My name is not very important, know that I am no enemy, but a friend, I came here to stop the forces of Cobra, the group who's men took you prisoner."

The villagers were amazed and they could tell that he was being serious and told the truth, after all, if he was an enemy, he could easily destroy them since he had been able to destroy the guards that were there. One of the elderly people, a village shaman looked at the Spartan and spoke to him…

"You…came from the stars….a living sword….to cut through evil….I dreamed that one such as you….guided by a being of light….filled with reason and wisdom….would come. You….are the sword….and shield of the earth's children…a master of war. Thank you for coming to save us….from an incoming darkness…a darkness that will….block out the sun and stars."

Another person then spoke to the Spartan.

"I am sorry….our shaman has been maltreated by these snake worshipping men and had been treated badly, ever since then he has been suffering feverish dreams."

The Spartan nodded and then directed his attention to the others.

"How many more of you are there in the base? I can bet that there are others."

"Yes…the snake worshippers have a number of our people still in their power, some of them are sent to tend to their weapons of warfare and oppression, while the others were sent to the place which provides life to that infernal pit that they call home. There is another compound there but it is well watched and they use lighting's own power to guard their walls."

The Spartan and Cortana had a very good idea what that meant as well, this base was going to be bit of a challenge breaking into. He however was going to keep on with the mission, time was running out before the G.I Joes would arrive so he needed to get moving. He then spoke to the villagers as he reloaded his weapons.

"I am going to go to the base, and destroy them, I will do what I can to free your fellow villagers."

The man who he had spoken to then took one of the discarded rifles and with grim determination in his voice, he spoke to the Spartan.

"I will go with you….those murderers and beasts in human skin have my wife there, she is being held where they store their tools of war for their men."

The Spartan could tell that this man was not alone in his desire to help free his fellow villagers as well as his wife as many other able bodied men got weapons to fight with him, however he was against it, he could tell that they would be slaughtered in minutes since they lacked any formal military training and discipline. Not to mention the fact that their courageous desire for justice, while commendable, was also going to ruin any chance of him getting into the base covertly. He then replied

"No….it would be of great risk if you come with me, stay here in the compound so that when I free your comrades, I will direct them here so all of you can escape."

The men clearly didn't like that but the elderly shaman then spoke.

"He….speaks truth….we would be burdens to him….let him save our kin, as he has saved us."

The others couldn't help but feel that maybe the shaman, despite his state of mind could be correct in saying this, if this lone warrior could easily defeat these snake worshippers despite their power, then he could do better alone, with that in mind they nodded and many of them took the weapons left behind by the Cobra forces and the man who's wife was still held by the Cobra forces spoke to the Spartan.

"Bring my wife and our people back safely, she is all that I have left, if you find her, her name is Neela, tell her that her husband Daikia is safe."

The Spartan nodded and moved out of the compound and headed off into the jungle and retrieved the SRS99D-S2 AM Sniper Rifle, he reloaded the weapon and headed out for the main objective with the massive Sniper Rifle in hand to carry out the next phase of the operation , knowing that the G.I Joes would soon be on their way.

--------

Up in the sky…

"Any luck with the weather Wild Bill?"

Flint asked as he and the forces were in the C130 transport plane, all of them were ready to deploy from the plane with their weapons at the ready for the night time battle that was before them all. He had been hoping to have some clear weather for the deployment but the storm that came in was going to delay them a bit in their mission.

"Not much we can do here Flint, that storm's lookin to be a real hard one. It might clear out with all that thunder and lightning soon though."

"Right, as soon as we're in the range of the location of Cobra's new fun house, tell us."

"Roger that."

As he moved away, Flint wondered what to make of the news handed to them by Duke, it was going to a serious thing if the data really did show them the full location of Cobra's hidden base, and while he was all for it, he was still not sure what to make of their mysterious benefactor, who was this Durendal anyway? He recalled the time the Viper showed up, at first they were confused by who the Viper was, but in the hints they got, they foiled Cobra several times and to their amusement, they found out that the Viper was actually an ordinary man washing windows and such. Flint grinned at that as he recalled the sheer humor of the whole thing and wondered just who this one was that gave them the data. The slaves that had escaped provided them the idea of the situation before them. But it was Durendal who provided the exact location, but the Warrant officer wondered why Durendal stated that in three hours, the base would be revealed to them.

"Something up Flint?"

Flint turned to see his partner and something of a romantic interest Lady Jaye speak to him with a questioning look on her face and he replied to her inquiry.

"I'm still trying to make sense of this Durendal character giving us this data, it's kind of hard to picture that someone gave us this data."

"Duke cleared it to be authentic information Flint, so I don't exactly think that it's all that bad,"

"I know….I guess we're going to have to be ready for this, as soon as that storm clears up, we're going to drop right in there and see if that base is actually in that location and if Durendal wasn't pulling our legs on the whole matter."

--------

Back in the ground with John and Cortana…

As the two reached the outer perimeter of the main base, they found themselves over a ridge that gave them a high view of the base, the Spartan looked over the base and used his MJOLNIR Mark VI's helmet to scan the base with night vision, spotting a number Cobra Trooper sentries moving about on the ground and on some catwalks on the walls, he looked carefully and spotted several small bunkers in strategic locations on the base's four sectors. Cortana then spoke to him showing him the base's outer layout.

"The base has an armory, motor pool, hanger bay, landing zone, barracks, a sorting station for the gems and diamonds, and a slave complex. The Command center appears to be in the center of the base itself, it is at a fair distance from the hanger bay and the Landing zone, the motor pool is near the slave complex, which is a fair distance from the barracks and the barracks is a fair distance from the armory as well. All in all, it's a fairly large base, and can pose a bit of a problem. The towers in the four corners appear to be the terrain masking systems that keep this place hidden though it seems that it doesn't shield them from rain."

The Spartan nodded as he looked at the base and recorded all the mentioned things into memory for the soon to come operation that he was going to start as Cortana then directed his attention to the bunkers that were below him.

"The bunkers appear to be security bunkers, according to the layout I managed to gain from the Cobra database, these serve as outer security hubs to the main system, if we can get there, I can get inside and get into the base's security system and cause some real damage."

"Good, what about the defenses?"

"Several guard towers and some heavy turrets for the most part, along with some anti-air turrets, so far, the basic kind of set up, and judging from the wiring I can see and the panels on the fences in regular intervals, I can bet they are using some sort of electrified fence that has channels to move water away from the fence itself."

"We'll need to be fast if we're going to break in, taking the front door is not a good idea so you're going to have to get creative in getting into the base."

The Spartan nodded and began to spot the sentries, moving through the cat walks over the fences and he began to wait a bit more to get his bearings, he spotted the turrets and after focusing his targeting systems with the Sniper Rifle, he began to shoot at the gears that would move the turrets, and like before he timed his attacks with the roars of thunder that filled the jungle, muffling his shots, this would prevent the turrets from being turned around into the compound.

He reloaded his Sniper Rifle with a fresh clip and repeated his actions, once the turrets were offline in the sense of movement, he then decided to place down his weapon while covering it with leaves and placing a NAV marker on it for retrieval later on. He took out his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and then looked at the nearby security bunker that was there in his view, the bunker appeared to have a glass roof and from his scans, there seem to be no sign of alarms. Apparently the Cobra forces were so confident that they were not going to be found easily that they ignored the basic rule of having back up security, it was time to shake that confidence down in his mind. He looked once more, mentally calculating the distance and speed needed to hit the roof dead center.

Cortana then spoke to him.

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"Yes."

The A.I shrugged at this and replied.

"All right, but be quick."

The Spartan agreed and took off to a high speed run and timed his jump with the next roar of thunder, as the sound reverberated over the jungle, the Spartan aimed his feet at the roof of the bunker and got ready to hit the bunker hard. He spotted a single Crimson Guard officer below him, unaware that he was about to be hit, the lighting might show him coming, but he was already moving in.

--------

The Crimson Guard officer only had a moment to spot something massive covering him from the lightning, he turned to see what it was and could only gasp as he spotted the incoming boots of the Master Chief just as he hit the glass. The glass was well tempered and could withstand a lot of impact, but it was NOT tested to withstand being hit by a person wearing advanced Powered Assault Armor that weighed a full ton. The Crimson Guard officer tried to call out a warning but his mind went numb as soon as the Spartan hit the glass roof hard.

CRASH!!!!

The Spartan smashed through the glass easily and planted his feet right in the head and neck of the Crimson Guard officer, the man barely had enough time to even cry out a sound as he was sent smashing down hard on the ground as the Spartan was now on top of him with a large depression on the flood.

Anyone heard the phrase 'street pizza'?

The Cobra personnel had no idea what happened as the sudden explosion of glass in the small security bunker hit them, they had enough time to cover their eyes, but that was also enough time for their attacker to move in and kill them. The Spartan was now on full throttle to eliminate the Cobra soldiers in the bunker, moving off the now dead Crimson Guard officer while using a powerful shoulder charge that hit one Trooper dead center in the chest….the Trooper could only hear the sound of his bones cracking as he smashed hard into the wall, the others were about to open their eyes but were then shot as the MA5C roared to life, though it was easily muffled by the attached silencer. Three troopers died easily and the other was about to hit the alarm, but he was not going to get far with that idea as he was shot by the Spartan.

The second Crimson Guard officer turned and was about to shoot and so did another Trooper as the Spartan merely took out one of the M7S SMGs on his hip and into his left hand while holding his MA5C in the right hand, the Spartan extended both arms and fired at the same time, hitting the Crimson Guard officer and the Cobra Trooper dead center in between the eyes.

The door opened in that moment as a pair of troopers walked in, they only had enough time to gasp when the Spartan quickly shot one with his MA5C and he dropped dead, the other was about to run away when the Spartan dropped his Assault Rifle and quickly grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw him hard into the bunker and then fired three rounds, two in the chest and one in the head in crisp military fashion.

The Master Chief stopped moving and used his Motion Tracker to see if anyone else was nearby, he saw no one and quickly dragged the no dead trooper he had killed with his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and then made sure to check the ground for blood stains, seeing none he sealed the door and extended the stock of his M7S SMG and used that for now while his Assault Rifle was still there on the ground. He then spoke to Cortana.

"All right, we're here, what do you have in mind?"

"Touch that computer terminal; I might be able to hack the base's security system this way."

The Spartan nodded and moved towards the computer terminal and placed his hand on the computer, allowing Cortana to determine the system and she snorted a bit.

"What's up?"

"There's no stand alone security system in this thing…it's directly wired right into the mainframe and the firewalls are so archaic I could hack into this with my electronic eyes closed and my hands, if I had hands, tied behind my back. What kind of morons are in Cobra's tech division?"

"Let's stay focused here; I'll hold the fort while you do your thing Cortana."

"Right."

--------

In the web of the computer world, Cortana was quick to make her way into the systems of the base, bypassing any firewalls with almost arrogant ease as she located the programming matrixes for the security camera systems and alarms. She grinned for a bit and decided to give the members of Cobra something else to worry about as well as cloak their approach even more. Once she was done with her actions she spoke slyly to herself.

"This should give these snakes something else to worry about."

She then left the area and headed back to the Master Chief.

--------

The Chief waited while keeping an eye on things while still armed with his M7S SMG in full extension while keeping his free hand on the computer console, his wait was not too long as he was greeted by Cortana's voice in his COM system, telling him that her infiltration was very successful..

"Did you miss me?"

John smiled a bit and replied.

"A little bit, you all right?"

"Good, I've disabled their base's full security alarms and also placed their cameras on a loop, that should keep them from figuring out we're here as well as keep the whole place isolated, I suggest our first trip be their armory, while these guys have their own weapons in hand, we should make sure that they do not have anything else to throw our way, we can rescue the slaves there too, and we might need some ordnance ourselves since we do have at least an hour and a half before the G.I Joe forces arrive."

"Right."

The Spartan then placed his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle on his back, as it's larger profile might be a bad choice in this base for close quarters fighting, and so he stuck to the M7S, he used the NAV markers Cortana set up to mark the location of the Armory to move through the base once he was done salvaging some grenades from the slain Cobra Troopers and the Crimson Guard officer, using his M7S to serve as a main weapon as he moved through the base quickly and quietly.

As soon as he arrived at the armory, the Spartan was able to avoid the patrols there, using his MJOLNIR's ability to shift colors and blended into the shadows of the armory while lowering the golden hue of his visor and making it deep back, easily fading into the shadows, he looked around and spotted a nearby cat walk with a door nearby that led into the armory and on the side was a large pipe that was no doubt used for providing air into the armory. He tested the pipe and found it to be supported by very strong restraint clamps, the Spartan quickly moved up, climbing the pipe with ease like a professional climber, he climbed all the way up the roof and then heard the door open just as he was now silently on the roof.

He looked down to see the Cobra Trooper move out to take a break from the inside of the armory, that was enough for the Spartan as he moved down as another crack of thunder hit the valley. That was enough to muffle his arrival as the Cobra Trooper turned about and was now face to face with the Spartan, the man gasped and his eyes bulged wide with terror. The Master Chief wasted no time as he quickly grabbed the guy by the throat and without any finesse, not that he needed any for a kill this range, crushed the man's windpipe. The sickening sound was barely heard by the people around as the man was no longer able to breathe. The Spartan then moved to the back of the Cobra Trooper in lightning speed and quickly struck hard at an area of the man's neck and was rewarded with the sounds of breaking bones once more as the man was now dead. The Spartan then moved into the armory and checked the area and spotted several other Cobra Troopers and some slaves there that were being used as labor. The Spartan dragged the body of his target silently into the area and reverted his MJOLNIR Mark VI back to the same color scheme as well as his polarized visor, he moved slowly through the area and when he was there on the floor of the armory, he moved in closer to the main area where most of the Troopers were, as soon as he was close enough, he then took aim at several of the Cobra Troopers and unleashed a hail of bullets on them.

The first to fall was hit dead center in between the shoulder blades and the area of the back, killing him easily as he hit the table where he and his buddies were gambling, the others turned and were gunned down as one was hit in the face and through the eye while another was hit in the throat and another was hit in the forehead. The Spartan quickly moved to eliminate the other Cobra Troopers and spotted one who was about to have his way with one of the female slaves while the others who were restrained cried out in anger and despair, their actions had unwittingly allowed the Spartan to assassinate the others quietly.

The slaves were shocked to see the Spartan as he loomed over the Cobra Trooper who was still trying to still the woman, the female slave gasped as she spotted the Spartan behind her attacker, and the Cobra trooper quickly realized that the woman stopped not because she had given up, but saw something or someone behind him. He turned and was quickly hit in the face by the fully extended stock of the M7S SMG, smashing his face to pulp as he fell dead.

The woman tried to move away, terrified as she tried to make sense of her rescuer….if he was man or demon while telling him to stay away from her. The Spartan saw that and spoke with Cortana translating his language to the dialect she seemed to be speaking.

"Are you all right?"

The woman stopped and she spoke with Cortana also translating for the Spartan.

"Yes….who are you?"

"Are you Neela?"

"Yes I am….but who are you?"

"You're rescuer, I've freed the other slaves from the outside compound already, and your husband is waiting for you."

The woman smiled happily and the Spartan quickly removed her shackles easily and freed the others and told them to follow him as he guided them out of the armory in the shadows and to stay close to him, he quickly shot down another pair of Cobra Troopers that were in the way and he then dragged their bodies away and hid them carefully behind several crates, he arrived at a section of the fence that had a power generator and he could tell that this was going to be a bit of a problem.

"Any ideas Cortana?"

"I do, I've managed to work out how to generate a localized EMP pulse using the power supply of your suit's shields, and it should be powerful enough to short out the system of the fence and render it useless without tripping the alarms, you can then rip the fence apart, don't worry, the shields will not be fully drained or compromised, I know what happened the last time we did that on Halo."

The Spartan followed the instructions of the A.I and in that moment, he and the others watched as brief flash of blue light was seen and as soon as Cortana told him that the power systems of the fence was now offline and he quickly tore the fence aside with ease due to his augmented strength and the strength given to him by the MJOLNIR Mark VI, the slaves were awed and he spoke to them.

"Make your way to the compound, the freed ones wait there for you."

The others nodded and began to leave but Neela then spoke to the Master Chief.

"I thank you stranger….may the Gods watch over you."

As she left, Cortana then spoke to the Spartan.

"That's kind of new….at any rate, let's hurry back to the armory, we need to get some supplies as well as make sure that the Cobra forces don't get their hands on any heavy weapons."

--------

The Spartan then made his way back to the armory and scanned the racks of weapons and explosives, he then grabbed a large pack that was water proof and began to take a large number of explosives with him, as soon as he filled up the pack with the needed amount of explosives, he began to take the remaining amounts of the explosives and began to rig enough explosives in strategic places to destroy the armory as well as bring it down with precision timing. He might not be the best explosives expert in his class, but he was able to do a very good job with whatever explosive materials he had on hand to work with.

As soon as the Spartan was done with the armory, he entered the shadows once more and managed to avoid alerting anyone as of yet, he reverted his MJOLNIR Mark VI to the al black scheme to blend into the shadows, moving silently as he now made his way to the slave complex, he could see it already and as he stayed in the shadows and moved closer. On his back was a pack filled with a LOT of explosives….more than even a certain explosive loving member of the Dreadnoks could carry. But the Spartan was not the least bit burdened as he moved through the place despite the fact that he was not able to take his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle.

He kept in the shadows and made his way to the motor pool, depriving the Cobra forces of vehicle support was key and when he was done, he was going to knock down the terrain masking systems while keeping out of sight. As soon as he arrived at the sight he hid as another pair of Cobra Troopers got out for a smoke. He moved in and waited as the one behind the other tried to light his smoke but found that his lighter was not working, that moment was all the Spartan needed.

--------

"What the hell, I thought I had this damn lighter…!"

Those were the only words that came out of the Cobra Trooper's mouth as he was suddenly grabbed by the Spartan and his neck was quickly snapped by the Spartan, he comrade turned and was shocked to see his partner drop dead before him and there before him was a giant of a man in full black armor and before he could react he was hit in the forehead by the barrel of the M7S SMG and he was shot down dead by the Spartan who then dragged both bodies away easily after placing his M7S on his thigh and moved into the motor pool, he checked the area and quickly took out the other M7S and retracted the stock of the other one he had been using earlier.

He moved in and quickly made his way into the facility, the place was filled with the sounds of loud tools working as Cobra base personnel were working on cleaning and fixing their vehicles, which included several Stuns and Hiss Tanks. The Spartan was quick to eliminate the first pair of Cobra Troopers quickly and he began to hunt down the people inside the motor pool starting with the guards and the ones who were threats to him.

The Spartan quickly killed a considerable number of Cobra base personnel who were unaware of him, but it was not long before several Cobra Troopers spotted him and unleashed their weapons at him, but their basic training made them unable to hit the Spartan as he quickly used cover and quickly took them down as they were indeed caught off guard as the Spartan hit them and their weapons proved unable to work effectively due to the shields in the MJOLNIR Mark VI which was back to the older green and black scheme with the visor once more in gold. They couldn't help but be wiped out as the Spartan moved with deadly precision and power, leaving bodies in his way. As soon as he finished off, he spotted the lone Crimson Guard officer who was in charge of the motor pool run to an alarm button nearby, John aimed his weapons at him, but found that both M7S SMGs were out of rounds already, but the Spartan was quick to make his move as he reached for a nearby tool box.

The Crimson Guard officer was about to hit the alarm but he was too late as the Spartan took a pair of screw drivers and threw them at him with full force, in the hands of skilled knife users and throwers, anything could be deadly as a thrown projectile, but in the hands of a Spartan it was death. The Crimson Guard officer watched as his hand was impaled by the screw driver inches from the alarm and before he could move, he heard something snap and he died….with the other screw driver in his neck, severing his neck easily.

As soon as he was clear, the Spartan quickly sealed off the motor pool, locking it down with Cortana's help and reloaded his weapons. As soon as he was done reloading his two M7S, he moved to study the complex and placed charges to strategic areas of the motor pool to ensure maximum destruction with minimum expense, he also took the time to puncture holes into several fuel drums and spread the fuel about to cause more damage and also took some plastic containers and rigged them with fuel to make bombs, placing them into the vehicles with cloth to burn through the plastic and ignite the fuel. The Spartan then left the motor pool quietly to continue with his mission with the timer counting down before the Joes would arrive on site.

Once he was done, he silently left the motor pool, once more moving through the shadows by changing the color scheme of his MJOLNIT Mark VI with his visor's golden color, becoming pure black once more, moving through the area and sticking to the shadows that were not revealed by the stray flashes of lighting, he evaded patrols with the use of the Motion Tracker, the audio scanners, and the vision modes. He headed for the Hanger bay and looked about after climbing up the nearby back entrance, as he quietly entered the room, he was surprised to see that the place was deserted, apparently the staff had taken the day off and were in the barracks.

Apparently the Cobra forces were so secure in the thought that their terrain masking technology would keep them safe that they were somewhat neglecting their duties to keep their equipment in pristine condition, but the Spartan was not bothering with such trivial details as this only meant to him that he had a lot more time to do his work as he began to play out the charges, he also placed several bombs on the weapon supplies to make sure that he could bring an extra element of destruction with minimal cost to his supplies which were soon going to be run out.

--------

As soon as he secured the hanger bay, he moved out to head for the power plant station, the bunker appeared to be fairly well guarded so he would have to get down to elimination a larger number of people for now. As he made his way there, he spotted several guards there for one of the doors, he took both M7S SMGs in both his hands and moved quickly through the shadows to get closer to the group and when he was close to the group he charged right at the soldiers and unleashed a hail of bullets that easily cut down the enemy troopers.

The first batch were shocked as their comrades who they were facing were suddenly cut down and then they spotted a massive black form that quickly killed them before they could even raise their guns, as soon as they were all dead, the Spartan turned and quickly kicked down another Cobra Trooper into the power station. The man screamed in under pain as he hit the wall and died due to massive damage to his body.

The Spartan was not going to hesitate as he charged in and quickly killed several more Cobra Troopers and moved in and placed one of his M7S SMGs on his hip and took out three more soldiers until one of the Crimson Guard officers who was in charge grabbed a slave and threatened to kill the young boy, forcing the Spartan to stop his attack, but he was not going to give up as he waited for the right moment, and as the man aimed his weapon towards him, the Master Chief acted in that instant….moving with super human speed and fired a single shot.

The slave gasped as he was suddenly released by his captor, he turned and saw that the Crimson Guard officer had a hole in between his eyes as the Spartan placed aside the M7S SMG and spoke to him.

"Are you all right?"

The man nodded dumbly and the Spartan wasted no time in getting the bodies of the slain Cobra Troopers outside of the power plant station and take them into the station, he then directed the slaves he had just liberated to help him guard the area with the weapons of their former captors and made his move to place explosives there in the station, placing them in areas that would bring maximum destruction with minimal expense. As soon as he was done with the explosive setting, he guided the slaves to another area of the base, avoiding patrols as best he could and did the same thing to shut down the fence without tripping the alarms, he then got them free, but he had just been informed that the other slaves in the base had been killed in a mine shaft collapse only hours before so there were no other slaves left in the base.

The Spartan was not happy and neither was Cortana but they knew that they had no other option as they helped the last slaves escape and he decided to head to the sorting center. Once he got there, he set up some explosives as all the personnel were in the barrack at the moment, and once he was finished, the Spartan then directed his full attention to the terrain masking towers. The towers resembled old fashions transmission stations with satellite dishes though their dishes were more like reverse domes, he once more evaded patrols while using the thunder of the still present storm to get to them.

--------

The Spartan then got to work on the terrain masking towers by placing explosives in strategic areas of the towers to bring them down and hard with maximum effect with minimum usage of the explosives that he had on hand with him in his water proof pack, the explosives themselves were also water proof so he didn't have to worry too much about them and this time, he was already out of explosives and he tossed aside the pack as he finally finished his work on the last tower.

He placed the charges and set them to the timer on his HUDS which was counting down to the arrival of G.I Joe into the area, with that done, the Spartan made his way through the base under the cover of darkness while hiding from any moving sentries and dispatching those who were in his way as he made his move to the Towers, strategically placing his charges on them to ensure that the best results would happen.

Moving through the base quickly and quietly was the only option that he had as he now directed his full attention to the command center, but he spotted several more of the Cobra personnel from the barracks come out of the facility and that made him very aware that if they found the bodies of their comrades, then things were going to get rather interesting for him. He managed to get to the command center and with Cortana's help, began to hack into the facility, as soon as it was done, the Spartan began to go through the area and track down the last cell of resistance and he already had a plan to finally end the curtain on the time on the base.

As soon as Cortana hacked through the security system and allowed him in, the Spartan moved quickly to the Command center and began to head to the main area as Cortana had also locked down the other rooms of the Command Center to keep others from interfering in the attack that the two of them were about to do. As they reached the main door, Cortana showed the Master Chief the layout of the main room, the main control terminals were a fair distance form the door while other computer systems were there on the side, the main terminal however was the real target though there were no doubt going to be a lot of Cobra Troopers there.

--------

The door opened and the guards remained in attention as they thought it was another officer coming in to give a report. That train of thought was going to cost them as the Spartan walked in, they could only turn a bit to see the massive Spartan moving between them. They gasped at the sight and they only had enough time to try and aim their weapons at the Spartan, however, the Master Chief was quick to react as he lifted his hands which were in fists and lashed them to either side.

The attacks smashed hard into the faces of both troopers, the sounds of flesh being torn was heard along with the sound of bones being crushed as the two Troopers were sent smashing back into the wall with two sickening thuds.

CRUSH!!!!

The staff of the Command Center turned at the sound and they were all quickly shocked as the Spartan moved quickly to take out his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle as the two troopers who's skulls he had crushed to pulp fell down in a heap, in that moment the Cobra forces got ready to fight as the Spartan seemed silent. The Crimson Guard officer looked at the Spartan and couldn't help but be shocked and confused, he had expected the Joes to be the ones attacking them, not some massive giant of a man in green and black armor with a helmet with a golden visor which hid his face that he had never seen before and carrying a rifle that looked too futuristic to be real.

He managed to get his courage and shout at the Spartan II.

"Who the hell are you?!"

The Spartan said nothing and moved his left hand to the side where the door controls were and a brief glow, the door locked down and the Spartan replied in a tone that sounded devoid of emotion.

"Who am I? I am your executioner."

The Crimson Guard officer shouted at his troopers in that instant.

"FIRE!!!!!"

The Troopers unleashed all the firepower they had, the volume of fire would have broken most charges, but they were going to be in for a surprise as the Master Chief charged right at them at full speed, the Spartan took out his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and charged at them firing away. The Spartan's hits were straight and true as several troopers fell dead, riddled with holes as they dropped their weapons and began to make several pools of blood all over the place as several more fell to the attack of the Spartan. The Cobra Troopers did their best but to their absolute shock, the shields of the MJOLNIR Mark VI flickered with each attack, however, the fully repaired shield system was more than able to hold it's own against the arsenals of the Cobra Troopers and for good reason as it had been a more advanced system of defense than the Mark VI's shield system, and the Cobra forces had never fought anyone armed with personnel shields before.

The Cobra Troopers who were still alive were utterly terrified as the man continued to advance in on them at high speed, those who were before the man were cut down quickly and when the man seemed to be out of ammunition for that strange but powerful Assault Rifle, he placed it quickly on his back and used what appeared to be some silenced SMGs which he took in BOTH hands and continued to unleash a hailstorm of lead on all of them. The Cobra Troopers could only hear tiny puffs as the dropped dead before the man.

"SQUAD THREE! GET UP THERE AND KILL HIM!!!!"

The Crimson Guard called out to another approaching team of reinforcements who were there on a cat walk and they unleashed a barrage of weapons fire, they thought that since they had the height advantage over this new attacker, that idea however died a horrible death as the Spartan quickly leaped upward.

The Master Chief quickly reloaded his weapons halfway to the cat walk, once his MJOLNIR's sensors on the hands told him that the M7S SMGs were fully loaded, he quickly spun himself in a full 360 spin while upside down and firing his weapons. The puffs emitted by the guns were the death kneel for the Cobra Troopers as they were shredded by the rounds from the M7S as the Spartan flew between them, they dropped dead the very second the Spartan hit the ground running in only a matter of moments and blasting away and killing more of the Cobra Troopers.

As the last of the Cobra Troopers fell down dead, the Crimson Guard officer tried to do a suicidal charge and attacked the Spartan head on but that was a mistake as the Spartan cut him down with several well placed shots and before he could recover himself, the Spartan quickly knocked him back with a powerful punch that sent him crashing hard into the nearby wall and with a loud bone crushing crack that showed his bones were broken.

With the number of the Spartan had just secured the main command center of the base and as soon as he quickly checked for any remaining survivors he quickly reached the command center's computer data bank and Cortana did her work to seal off the rest of the base, the A.I wasted no time and entered into the computer world once more.

As soon as she did so, she looked over the floor plans and began to seal off the barracks to prevent any more Cobra Troopers from trying to escape, while also locking down the power supply station, shutting down communications as well as the base's defensive systems along with the motor pool and hanger bay,, and once she was done, she got out and rejoined the Spartan.

"It's done Chief, but it seems that s a good number of Cobra Troopers are coming here to report in, I suggest you get ready to leave the area once you deal with them and head out of the base, the bombs we've set up in the power plant area should go off soon enough, along with the bombs we have placed on the Terrain masking systems, and G.I Joe should be showing up soon enough."

The Spartan nodded as he reloaded all his guns and when that was completed, he then quickly moved out through the doors and was soon greeted by the Cobra Troopers that Cortana warned her about and they were naturally shocked, this allowed the Master Chief to mow several of them down and then he took out a grenade and tossed it quickly, the Frag grenade bounced for a bit and landed in the midst of several Cobra troopers and they were blasted apart. The Spartan then moved through the area of the Command Center and killed several more Cobra Troopers who came in into the base. As soon as he was done cleaning house, the Spartan checked his time and saw that he only had at least ten minutes before the Joes showed up.

He decided to vacate the premises quickly before the Cobra forces gathered en masse and he left the Command Center but as he rounded the corner to head out to his escape route that he had chosen, several groups of Cobra Troopers were on the scene and heading this way, The Spartan however kept his cool as he had planted a secondary charge of explosives in the sorting center to cause a ruckus. And that went off like a charm.

BOOM!!!!

The Cobra Troopers were stunned by that and quickly ran to the area to save the stores of diamonds and gemstones there as well as keep the inferno under control, leaving the Spartan alone as he had hidden behind a wall earlier, just as Cortana spoke to him.

"You planned ahead, I'm happy to see that you've still got it."

"Thanks…the other bombs should be going off soon, time to leave."

"I couldn't agree more."

As soon as the Spartan was out of the area he was able to encounter several more groups of Cobra troopers who were alerted by the explosion at the sorting center, the troopers were shocked to see the Spartan and paid for their hesitation with their lives as he quickly killed them with shots from his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and both of his M7S SMGs. As he fought his way past the Cobra Troopers who were now dead, the Spartan quickly reached on of the turrets and used his MJOLNIR Mark VI's magnetic soles on the boots to climb up the structure of one of the turrets and as soon as he reached the top, he jumped into the jungle just as the turret tried to fire at him. The turret however was unable to muster the speed needed to catch the highly nimble Spartan as he moved away, and his previous attacks on them were now in effect as the turret couldn't turn to pursue him.

The Spartan quickly made his way through the jungle and as soon as he got his Sniper Rifle….things got really interesting as the explosives they set up soon went boom.

The sounds of destruction drowned out even the thunder this time as the storm lost it's power and the clouds began to part, the Cobra Troopers who were unaware of the escape of their slave laborers and the Spartan who had just single handedly decimated them were now caught in an even worse fix as the base was now burning up like a battle zone, and it seemed that they were the only ones who were aware of this.

The Spartan then turned to face the clearing night sky as several aircraft came on the scene; it seemed that the Joes had finally arrived.

-------

Wild Bill was happy that the storm had stopped and looked through the cloud cover, he had expected to see the jungle once more and where the base was supposed to be….he saw it all right, but it seemed the base was under attack. The helicopter pilot of the Joes Team then told the others to get ready for a drop. The others nodded and as soon as the doors opened and they were given the all clear, the Joe Strike team headed down to attack Cobra.

"YO JOE!!!!"

Flint, Lady Jaye, Quick Kick, Life-Line, Mutt and Junkyard, Beach-Head, Footloose, Recondo, Leatherneck, Breaker, and Ripcord made it down to the base with guns blazing with Wild Bill as well as Airborne providing air support in their gunships, as soon as they landed, they removed their parachutes and moved to hit the base of Cobra however they were in for a very interesting surprise as there were a number of Cobra Troopers who were so disorganized at the moment that they didn't even react to the Joes' presence, and it seemed that the base was in enough of a mess already with fires breaking out in the base.

The Joes had no idea what was going on but they knew that looking about was not going to help. They moved in and began to attack the Cobra forces, but found them to be so few that they felt that the fight would end very easily. And that was indeed the case as the Cobra troopers who had survived the attack of the Master Chief spotted G.I Joe and seeing their situation, no vehicles, air support, their defenses offline, their armory blown to hell, and no backup, they had no choice but to surrender.

Unknown to the Joes, as they hit the base, they were being watched by the Master Chief through the scope of his Sniper Rifle cycling through their faces and identifying them carefully for future reference, it was then that Cortana spoke to him.

"Right on time, at least the Joes are punctual, time to get out of the area Chief, it'll be a while before they figure out that we're out of the area."

"Right."

With that, the Spartan took his leave and worked his way out of the jungle to head back to the river and back to the Pelican, he gave one last look as the storm cleared away and the night was illuminated by the fires of the Cobra base. The Spartan then moved on carefully making his way through the jungle with military precision and soon reached the river and took the same path to where his Pelican was. As soon as he got there, he personally scanned the area to make sure that no one had wandered here by accident and when he was sure that that everything was clear, he moved in and boarded the Pelican.

He powered up the engines and Cortana was now helping him fly the Pelican out of the area, avoiding any contact with G.I Joe with a low flying run and once they were well out of radar range, the Spartan II and the UNSC A.I headed back to their mountain stronghold.

--------

Later...

Flint whistled at the carnage as he and the other Joes were currently rounding up the Cobra Troopers after freeing them from the barracks. The Cobra Troopers realized that without any weapons of their own and their armory totaled and many comrades already going to the funeral homes and grave sites, resistance was futile so they surrendered. The Joes were now cleaning up the place as well as gathering all the intelligence that they could get of the operations that had been left in the base's data banks.

The damage the base suffered as really something to look at, the key parts of the base were destroyed completely as if done by a skilled demolitions expert and a good portion of the base was reduced to rubble and they had to use some portable generators from the C130 to get the base operational long enough for salvage operations. There were a large number of dead Cobra Troopers who were now being taken away. The Joe third in command had to admit that this was going to be something for the record books as he was in the Command Center corridors..

He wondered just who had tipped them off of the base's location, while the slaves that had escaped before had told them of the general location, they never got into the specific details and now just as they were about to get in and evict Cobra, they find the slaves not only freed, but most of the base reduced into nothing but rubble and over half of the Cobra forces wiped to the ground.

He looked at the mess in the Command Center once more and spoke to Cover Girl as the former model was currently working on gathering anything that could give them a clue as to what the heck had happened here.

"Cover Girl, what did you find?"

The blonde shook her head and replied.

"Not much at the moment Flint, but whoever attacked this place was really armed to the teeth."

Lady Jaye moved in and showed what appeared to be shell casing of some sort as she then spoke to Flint.

"Here's something….it seems that whoever gave Cobra a beating here uses this kind of ammunition….seems to be 7.62x51mm Full Metal Jacket Rounds, all appear to be of NATO make and some sort of Fragmentation type of ammunition."

Flint looked at the shell casing and thought about what that meant, he then recalled just what Lady Jaye said about the ammunition.

"There are also Fragmentation Rounds here as well? Isn't that sort of ammunition reserved for training and civilian use to avoid ricochets?"

"Yeah, but these appear to be a fully militarized version and some of the Cobra Troopers were literally shredded by them. Whoever did this was no amateur….but a full blown professional attacker. That's the only evidence we have at the moment Flint, there's not much we can find, whoever did this was very thorough in not leaving a trace."

Flint shook his head and placed the shell casing into one of his pockets and spoke to Lady Jaye.

"I guess this piece will have to do for now, we can have this taken back to the Pit, get the serial numbers on them and find out just who attacked them, I personally don't mind some help from the other armed forces but they should have told us that they were sending forces ahead of us."

That was when Life-line came on the scene as the Medic spoke to the two.

"Guys….you might want to hear something."

Flint was the first to speak to Life-line.

"What's the rush?"

"I managed to get a chance to talking to one of the escaped villagers who apparently came back after escaping from the place….he said that there wasn't an attacking army that hit the base….it was…."

"What?"

Life-line shook his head and replied.

"The man said that it was one man…."

Flint and Lady Jaye were stunned at this and the female Joe was the first to speak.

"Hold up….he said that ONE man did all this?!"

"Yeah….he was working on the slave detail in the power plant when the guards were suddenly attacked by a blur of motion and he and his comrades saw that the one who attacked their guards was a giant of a man….decked in some sort of armor that covered the entire body."

"Did he see the face?"

"No….he said that the man….or whatever that being was….had some sort of mask that was like pure gold that hid his face….like a polarized visor or something."

The two were still trying to get some sense and idea on what were they going to do with this kind of information, it was then that Flint had an idea.

"Maybe Cobra's security cameras have us a video of this man in question, the security room seems fairly intact, and so we might get some answers on who our mystery ally is. I want to know just who he is so we can be sure we can trust him. Beach head's already there so let's hope he's got some answers."

The three trooped to the base's security center where Beach-head was busy trying to get some data, but the man quickly growled and pounded his fist on the control panel in what appeared to be frustration, that was something that usually was common with the man, but Flint could tell that his fellow Joe was having some real issues with what he was getting from the computer systems.

"Beach-head, what's going on?"

"I've been trying to access the records on the base's security grind to find out just what the hell happened here….but all I am getting is some sort of damn feedback loop."

Lady Jaye was surprised at that as she looked at the images and spoke to Beach-head.

"What do you mean?"

"Somehow the Cobra's security system was corrupted to show nothing but clear halls and no sign of attack, it's been going on ever since I tried to get some data on what the heck happened here and who are the ones responsible for this attack. From what I can guess, the attacking forces must have done something to the computer systems in the base security to read all clear and effectively disable all forms of alarms all over the base; this gave them free reign to tear into Cobra hard before the snakes knew that they were under full attack. Whoever did this were not a bunch of amateurs, they were damn good, and even I can bet all the money in my pocket right now that their techs could give Main-frame a run for his money."

Flint then spoke.

"So there's no way we can get any idea on who led the attack?"

Beach-head shook his head.

"No chance….the files for the day and time of this whole attack that happened are all in loops. There's nothing we can gain for this day."

Flint had to give this guy credit, he knew his stuff….the only thing he had to worry about at this point was what was he going to tell Duke and General Hawk once he got back to the Pit. This was going to be in the Pit's rumor mill for quite a long time.

--------

Days later…

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Back in the base…

The Master Chief was currently training in the built in gym and was out of his MJOLNIR Mark VI and wearing only a pair of training shorts and boots. The Spartan worked hard to keep himself in shape as he knew that keeping himself in good condition was key to winning any battle that he would find himself in. As soon as he was done, he decided to go out and do some regular maintenance work on his MJOLNIR Mark VI with Cortana who would help him do the needed ground work.

He wondered just what else was going to happen soon, he hoped that soon he would find a way to return to his own universe. For now he could only do what he could to survive and protect Cortana until they found a solution to the situation that they were in, there was no doubt that his and Cortana's existence was still unknown to others as Cortana's hacking into the database of Cobra discreetly showed that they were still thinking that the Joes did the attack.

He hated hiding himself from those who were on the good side of the law, but he was still under orders to protect Cortana and he was not going to fail that mission and he was going to keep his promise to Johnson to never let Cortana go no matter what happened.

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In deep space…

"How badly damaged is the ship?"

"Most of our systems are damaged and the Slipspace drives are not operational Chieftain."

The figure growled in a very blood thirsty, animalistic fashion as the figure spoke once more to it's subordinates.

"How soon can the repairs be done?!"

"At least several months Chieftain, it can be shortened if we have the Grunts and the Huragok onboard working around the hour."

The being growled once more, brooding on a number of matters and then turned to face his other subordinates, who were now revealed in the light.

To the humans of this dimension, they were aliens, but to the humans of the UNSC and to the Covenant Separatists, they were the Jiralhanae, or simply….the Brutes. These followers of the Covenant were the most vicious of the races and were rivals of the Arbiter's own race the Sangheili. They were blinded by their fanatical devotion to the lies of the Prophets and despite the resounding defeat and death of the Prophet of Truth, it was doubtful that they were going to just give up their desire for war and death to both the Humans and their rivals the Elites.

The Brute leader was a War Chieftain, wearing advanced golden Power Armor and carrying a powerful Gravity Hammer. He had been one of the forces that were part of the fleet commanded by Truth, they had been forced to escape, something that further angered them as they took as many of their kin as they could manage and house, along with whatever resources they could salvage. They had hoped to tell their kin in their home world how the war ended so they would continue this war with the humans and the Elites….but now…they were lost and unsure of where they were in the universe.

One Brute turned and spoke to his leader.

"What are we to do now Chieftain?"

"See if there is any data on where we are."

The Brutes did so and soon enough, one of the more intelligent ones spoke

"We appear to be close to the direction of the home system of the humans, it my take us several years to reach them due to the damage to our ship."

The Chieftain nodded and ordered all the Brutes in the ship to heed his commands.

"Listen to me my Pack! We have failed….we have failed the Prophets and the Gods badly, we have allowed those filthy humans and those traitorous Elites to sully the Covenant and kill our leaders….and they have killed the instrument of our Gods! Hear me, this failure will NEVER be forgotten, nor will we let the humans think we are beaten! No….we will not bow down to them and the filthy Elites!!!"

The Brutes roared out in anger at this as they knew that their leader spoke the truth to them, they had failed the Prophets and the Gods they held dear….and now they could no longer be able to face their kindred back home.

"We will make the humans suffer, once we arrive in their vaunted home system….with our ship fully rebuilt, we shall rain down on their world the cleansing fire of our wrath! We shall reduce their cities to glass and feast on their bones! We shall strike them in their heart by destroying their vaunted planet piece by piece! Though we are no longer in the numbers we had before….we will make the humans pay for the deaths of every last one of our brothers and the Prophets. We shall make sure that these filthy humans will burn in the pits of the hells for their transgressions against the Gods!!! We may die….but we will die knowing our blood shall wash our sin clean and allow us to take the Great Journey once more!!!!"

The Brute War Chieftain lifted his Gravity Hammer and spoke out in rage and blood lust.

"And when we find that Demon….that Master Chief….I will personally cut his head off and put his heart on a spike!!!"

The Brutes in the command area roared in agreement, they were more than ready to wage war once more on the foul humans to avenge the Prophets who were slain, they were going to finish what the Prophets started and when they brought the fall of the human world, they were going to make sure that the Great Journey will be complete, and it will be made with their blood, and that of every last human!

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To be continued…

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Author's notes:

Now that finishes the first story, it's a bit messy since it's been a while since I did any epic battles of any scale since my vacation so I might be kind of rusty. This was a good bit of work to get any kinks out of my system at any rate, but that does not mean that this is going to be my main focus story for this year. I will have to ask for some forgiveness if the planning is a bit off for this story since time is not on my side.

I have many projects left to do that I know many readers want to me to add new chapters to as well as finish soon so this will be the only chapter for the time being for this story. I hope you can understand my predicament here and be patient as more work is on the horizon for me, that much I know for a very good certainty. At any rate I wish you all a good life and hope that despite this being the only new chapter it is well received by you readers.

I read that the game designers said that the MJOLNIR Mark VI had the ability to change colors, so I took advantage of that tidbit for this mission, after all, it became a night operation run and moving around in green and black is not exactly a good choice for night operations so an all black look is a lot more effective for the Spartan, plus the sight of a man decked in full black can really be a scary thing, even more so if the man in question happens to be the Master Chief.

Of course….that is not the only thing that is going to be seen soon.

As you can see, the Master Chief and Cortana are NOT the only ones from the Halo universe who will be there in the G.I Joe universe. How will the Earth of both the Joes and Cobra handle the arrival of the Brutes who survived the war on the Ark?

One thing is for sure….when the Brutes arrive, things are going to get REAL hairy from here on out….while this lead something extraordinary?

Wait and see!

Reviews are welcome along with constructive critiques, flames however, have a special place, and that place is being used to cook food and then discarded so don't bother sending me any all right?


	3. Chapter 3

G. I Joe X Halo

Disclaimer: I don't own G.I Joe or Halo, all right?

Chapter 2

Home-front

( ): Thoughts

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In John and Cortana's base of operations...

The sounds of cooking food filled the kitchen facility of the base as John was currently cooking some beef in a thick sauce to make his breakfast for the day as well as a bowl of mashed potatoes in the other which was already done and still hot. The Spartan was bare of his armor and was currently taking the time to cook a good meal after spending the last three hours early in the morning in the base's gym and shooting range.

As much as he knew that Cortana was more than ready to warn him of any interlopers in the base, he preferred to be up and about early, the training he got from his time on Reach with Chief Mendez had never left him and it had saved his life more than once so he saw no reason to get lax in his training. He spent the time in lifting weights, running on a specially made treadmill and shooting at the range, and now here he was cooking breakfast. He was no gourmet cook, but he got by.

As soon as he was done, he took the beef out and cut it up, placing it on the table and soon began to eat his food, he had already a container filled with coffee and some water as well as some milk to drink. It was a basic breakfast for most but to the Spartan it was rather filling and would give him the needed energy for the day ahead. Though he did feel somewhat lonely as he was the only one eating at the moment in his base, and that was a new feeling for him as he normally had company around him when he ate his food. Though most UNSC personnel stayed away from him, there were the usual exceptions and his fellow Spartans so he wasn't always alone during his meal time when he was not in cryo-sleep.

As he finished his coffee, the nearby holo-tank came to life and Cortana appeared with a warm smile on her face.

"Enjoying yourself?"

John nodded as he finished his meal and drank his coffee, once he was done, he spoke to his long time companion and friend.

"How about you?"

"Pretty good, I've managed to hack my way through the Pitt's network defenses, no matter how many firewalls they cook up, they didn't have much to defend against me, it seems our little excursion has become the topic of discussion there."

"I can bet, anything else?"

Cortana nodded and replied.

"Yeah, it seems that they still have the data from that teleportation technology that they had dealt with before, the sad thing is that the data is going to take a while to fully compile and since it has something to do with data that is remotely the same as that of the teleportation grid system used on the Halo Rings and by the Forerunners, it might take a while before I can make sense of it's inner workings and how we can make use of it in battle or if it works out, how we can use it to head back to our world."

John smiled a bit and replied.

"Take your time, I know you like a challenge anyway."

Cortana smiled at that and replied.

"Are you flirting with me John?"

John didn't reply but he smiled a bit more and decided to go and get a shower in his private room, leaving Cortana to smile as she looked at him moving away from the kitchen area.

"You think you knew a guy, then he throws a monkey wrench in the works when you least expect it."

Cortana sighed and got back to work on making John some citizenship papers and documentation, though John was born in Elysium City in Eridanus II, he was now being designated as an American citizen and had all the needed papers to get in and out of where he was, and at the moment, he was on vacation. Hacking into the system to have John made into an American citizen as well as have all the needed paper work was child's play to Cortana and soon after an hour or so, she got things ready just as John came back.

The A.I then turned to her protector and spoke.

"By the way, I got you some much needed papers and documents so you can move in and out of the country without red lighting anything, so I guess that now is the right time for you to go and take a much needed break, I'll keep an eye on things for the time being and if anything crops up that is important enough, I'll let you know, I also got you some supplies that you might be able to find useful."

The Spartan looked at Cortana and se could tell that he was having a bit of trouble with the idea of leaving her alone and she replied.

"Come on you big lug, go out and rest for a while okay?"

John could see that there was no way to argue with Cortana and decided to do so, it was somewhat different at the moment since this was actually the first time that he had some time for himself, since most of his time was spent in fighting enemy forces, and being part of battle strategies, tactical meetings, and more besides. Nevertheless, he decided to do the thing that Cortana requested of him, he knew that he could count on her to tell him if something was up. With that in mind he headed off to the vehicle yard and there was the Warthog, fully loaded with supplies and gear that would be of good use for him on the trip.

He got onboard the Warthog and powered it up and headed out from the base, it was going to be a good chance be somewhere without a mission hanging on his head, though the Spartan was realistic in his way of thinking as he knew that sooner or later, he was going to have to deal with some mission sooner or later. As he left the base minutes later, he decided to make his way to the Canadian/US border to get some idea on where he could rest without being too far away for Cortana to contact him despite the fact that she could easily hack into any satellite network civilian or otherwise

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In the Pitt, two days later…

Duke sighed as he read the reports of the mission in South America once more, he was still trying to make sense of it all, they had managed to get the base back to operational status and look for answers, but all they found were reports of Cobra Troopers being found dead and the base hit with a precision that equaled or rivaled even the most well coordinated commando raid. And there was no record of who did the attack, the second in command of G.I Joe was currently trying to figure out just who had done this since the reports brought back by Flint and Lady Jaye stated that one man had done the attack.

That made no sense to him at the moment, he had no doubt that his fellow Joes could do well on their own, but to do this level of damage alone and without any form of backup from the others was something that as a bit of a stretch, the very least they would have gotten a message on who it was as well as the location. The only things they got was a report from this Durendal character on the base's location and that it would be revealed to them in the course of the mission and it was, they just didn't expect to find the base torn apart, half or nearly all of the Cobra forces slaughtered, the slaves left alive freed from prison, and no evidence to show just who did the attack and how it was executed.

He still tried to figure it all out and decided to take a break for the time being just as Flint and Lady Jaye entered, Flint could see that his friend and boss was still scratching his head on this fiasco and replied as he gave Duke a mug of coffee.

"Still trying to make sense of the whole mess Duke?"

"Yes, still trying to figure out how to treat this mysterious soldier who gave Cobra a serious butt kicking, I'm not sure if he's the genuine article or it's just another ploy of Cobra to have us lower our guard."

Lady Jaye nodded a bit though her looks were showing to the two other men that she still had some thoughts on the whole thing.

"Maybe, but even Cobra's not the kind to sacrifice men like that and then turn a good working base near a rich vein of precious stones as a decoy, even that's a bit of a stretch for those snakes. But I do agree with Duke here, this is way too odd, any luck finding any leads on our mystery guy Duke?"

"Not at the moment, though I'm hoping that General Hawk's trip to the White House can get some clues."

Flint then someone was not in the room.

"Hold up, where's Scarlett?"

"She's currently taking a flight to Langley to have some time with the folks and afterwards, take the time to check with the CIA, maybe they have some files and if not, she'll try to contact the October Guard in Moscow to see if they have anything on this whole situation. I know asking the Guard's a bit much, but we need all the information we can get."

Flint nodded and smiled a bit as he leaned back and replied.

"Hey, if we find this guy and he turns out to be the genuine article, we can certainly ask him to join us, as much as I dislike saying it, he did a lot of good work there in South America, he was able to take out that many snakes by himself, than that guy deserves to join us."

Duke sighed and replied.

"First things first, what have you and Lady Jaye found out about the shell casings?"

"They're definitely made by NATO standards, but the craftsmanship is flawless, usually there are some innate flaws in any bullet, but these shells showed no errors or flaws, almost as if they were meticulously crafted by the best gun smiths in the world. The strange thing is some of the serial numbers, namely the ones used to determine when the rounds were made were in what is the 26th Century."

"Come again?!"

"Lady Jaye isn't kidding Duke, these bullets MIGHT be NATO make, but they are top of the line ammunition and their serial numbers don't lie, they were made in the 26th Century, and we made some other discoveries as well, when we checked the autopsy reports on several of the dead Troopers we found them to be hit by caseless rounds."

"Case-less?"

"Yep, there were no shell casings, the powder burns were pretty thick so that would mean that the bullets were in the propellant, whoever the guy or guys were who attacked Cobra a few days ago were well armed Duke, so let's hope we can find him or them before Cobra does, they might either kill them or hire them out, and there's also this Durendal guy or lady, any word on that?"

"Nothing, and I can bet that right now, Cobra is NOT in the best of moods."

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True enough…

"You expect me to believe that ONE man destroyed the whole operation Baroness?!"

Cobra Commander was in a very angry mood as he glared at the Baroness who was currently in her usual mode of dress as she was calm in front of the ranting man who commanded Cobra, the most ruthless terrorist organization in the world, they had been able to make a good deal of funding from the precious stones that they were able to mine in the South American base, and in that time, they were able to evade the Joes attempts to find out anything in their activities. But now the base had been utterly destroyed and their operation was discovered.

The Commander thought that the Joes were responsible, so he sent the Baroness to gather information on how the operation was done, so she was disguised as a repair technician in the Pitt a day or so before to get anything that the Joes had on their attack on the base, but now the Baroness was telling him that the Joes were not the ones who had attacked their operation, and it was the work of one man. He found that so incredulous in the sense that it was NOT the Joes who did the attack, but someone else.

"Yes Commander, the Joes had received some sort of coded information from some someone named Durendal, this….Durendal knew EXACTLY where the base was, what was the technology we used to shield it, and how many slaves and soldiers were there as well as the vehicles and layout, and to make things more interesting, this Durendal said that in three hours, the base would be shown to them."

"The data was very accurate Commander, and at the end of three hours, our base was indeed revealed to the Joes, and they came there, they found no sign of this mystery man and even they are in the dark on who this Durendal person is."

Cobra Commander was naturally not alone in the base center as Destro, Tomax and Xamot, Scrape Iron, Storm Shadow, and Zartan were there as well. The Commander was still seething that the news and Destro spoke.

"Cobra Commander, the Baroness never lies about this kind of situation, we have to assume that this Durendal must have somehow hacked our security network to feed the Joes this information."

"Or maybe….someone GAVE it to him!"

Destro glared at that and snorted at the accusing tone of the Commander.

"I did NOT release any information Commander."

The man snorted and replied.

"Fine, then we'll have to keep on with tracking this Durendal, find out who leaked our information on our plans, and have the security database serves in all our bases had three times the Firewalls! Baroness, I trust your mission is still on schedule?"

"It is Commander, we have infiltrated the city and our agents have given us an open window into the building, I have a Night Raven ready to transport my team in full extraction as soon as we got the information and the funding."

Cobra Commander nodded, visibly relaxing at that, they were going to get rich again and also gather information that could be worth billions in the black market trade for information. The information naturally was owned by none other than the CIA, they currently had targeted a safe house for such funds and information, and besides, if this Durendal existed, the CIA should at least have a record of this. Once the data and funds were gained, they were going to use the Night Raven, armed with stealth systems to extract the team.

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Unfortunately for Cobra, their attempts to keep their latest plan from any hacking attempts were doomed to failure as Cortana had hacked into their database, as soon as she read the information, she quickly decided to contact John who was currently in the US at the time, taking in the sights of the wild parks there, perfectly close to the location though it would be at nighttime when he would arrive on site.

She then decided to hack into the database to locate the Night Raven and jam both it's communications systems to both the Baroness and to Cobra as well as it's stealth field to render it visible to anyone seeing it on radar. Once that was done, she contacted John, it seemed that things were soon going to get rather exciting, and while he was not wearing his MJOLNIR Mark VI at the moment, it was not going to be a problem, after all, she had stowed away some useful gear on the off chance he was in the field and something came up.

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The Spartan managed to get some time off for the past two days with some camping out in the wilderness in the Canadian/US border on the US side with him annually checking up on Cortana from time to time, he had just finished eating lunch and packing up for the when Cortana finally called him in as he boarded his Warthog to head back to the base after crossing the Canadian border into the United States.

"John….I think we've got a problem with Cobra again."

In that moment, John got his focus on the task as he spoke to her.

"What are they up to?"

"They've got a mission going on in McLean Fairfax County Virginia, they appear to be targeting a sort of banking and finance center, on the outside it's the regular site of business transactions in the US for foreign businessmen and for those working abroad. But Cobra is after it for a reason, it's a covert facility of the CIA ."

John nodded at that, the CIA was among the intelligence units that were able to unite under the banner of the UEG and eventually fused with other intelligence agencies to form the Office of Naval Intelligence or ONI in his reality, the need for a galaxy wide covert intelligence network was the reason the CIA merged with the other Eastern and Western branches such as MI6, Mossad, KGB and the like. Though in this case, since the events of the UNSC didn't happen here, then it was easy to bet that the CIA was still an independent intelligence organization reporting only to the President.

"I see….is the operation already underway?"

"Half way from the looks of it, The Baroness and her crew are already on site and making their way to the building, you've got to move Chief, I've already made the move to alert the Joes so they will be there shortly, so get moving."

Jon sighed and spoke to Cortana.

"I don't have the MJOLNIR Mark VI you know."

"Don't worry, I had gear as well as supplies and a good disguise to help you out in the back, you didn't think I would leave you bare of some level of protection did you?"

John nodded, in the back of his Warthog were a number of magnetically sealed crates that were hidden underneath a custom built storage area that he had worked on before, this way his supplies couldn't be accessed since the storage area was covered by a special AC plate system to hide it from prying eyes. Of course the Warthog had to be larger and stronger in design it had to be rebuilt from the ground up. He had gotten quite a number of stares from the motorists when he came to the check point and even the border guards raised eyebrows at that.

As he got the engine going, he looked at the NAV markers and headed out to the city in question. And he could bet that the Joes were getting Cortana's data once more.

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In the Pitt…

Duke and the others were getting some work done when Mainframe and Breaker called in.

"Duke we got a message."

"From who?"

"Durendal, it seems that Cobra's gone and did something that got his or her attention and he or she wants us to know about it."

Duke, Lady Jaye, and Flint arrived and there the data was revealed to them, Duke read what he could and so did Lady Jaye and Flint and they were surprised to say the least, an attack on the CIA was not all that new to them, but stealing from them was also something that was not done all the time, nevertheless they could easily see how Cobra would profit from this and they read how Cobra planned to extract their team from the building.

"Breaker, contact Ace and the others in sky patrol to head to the path of this Night Raven, if it's there, then take it out. Do we have an idea of the building's location?"

"Hold up…."

As soon as the address was shown, Duke blanched as he read the whole thing before him.

"That's where Scarlett is right now!"

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In a car-park nearby hours later…

John looked over the building being occupied by the Cobra forces, the building might have looked ordinary to some and it was in the form of a simple office that dealt with overseas businesses, fifteen floors and simple coloring with tinted windows, the kind of place that appealed more to the people in finance and business,, but it was actually a special safe house for the funds of the CIA's overseas operations as well as having some records of previous and current CIA black ops activities both in the US and abroad, according to Cortana's hacking into the database, the Cobra forces were planning to get as much of the funds as they could manage to steal as well as gather information of the various CIA operations that the funds were used for, they could cripple the CIA with this attack both in terms of data as well as funding, and incur more funds by selling the information to other terror groups.

As the Spartan looked over the data schematics of the building, as well as the current information on the movements of the terrorists he couldn't help but feel a level of disappointment as he didn't have his MJOLNIR Mark VI Powered Assault Armor for this mission, but he had something else on hand. He made sure to locate a car park that was a fair distance from the building but close enough to allow him access to the location itself as well as provide him with an exit and entry route well within the shadows. So far, from what Cortana had been able to see through the SWAT feeds and the building's own internal cameras, the group were being led by none other than the Baroness and a number of Crimson Guard, this meant that the mission was going to be of great value to Cobra.

He opened the crate and showed some level of distaste as soon as he got out the set of UNSC Armor that he had to use for this mission. And for good reason, it was the ODST Battle Dress Uniform.

The ODST Battle Dress Uniform was a highly advanced piece of equipment in the UNSC arsenal, constructed from special ceramics combined with lightweight titanium alloy plates for advanced ballistic protection in the chest, back, upper arms, lower arms, shoulder, thighs, and feet, the inner layer was made from a special Kevlar fiber that was effective against damage from small shrapnel and small arms fire as well as having temperature regulation systems to keep the wearer comfortable in most environments and also serve to hide the wearer's thermal signature from thermal scanners, increasing the stealth function of the ODST Battle Dress Uniform itself, it also had a special heat retardant layer to further aid in keeping the person cool in the orbital drops and in stealth missions as well. The suit was also rated for EVA missions and vacuum sealed, it had a built in fifteen minute air supply as well for such missions.

The ODST BDU also had several other features, one being a well armored rucksack that allowed for the trooper to carry supplies and tools needed for a mission. These would include medical supplies, power cells for UNSC equipment and devices on the field, ammunition, and equipment for any possible mission that the ODSTs would find themselves in and an onboard communication system with a renewing power supply for communications work. The larger the rucksack, the more supplies the Spartan had with him.

The next component was the helmet that was constructed from titanium ceramics that was specially made to withstand heat and pressure and had a deep black inner padding system to give comfort to the wearer, the visor was made from a bullet resistant material that resembled glass that had the ability to polarize to hide the face just like that of the helmet visor of the MJOLNIR Power Armor Series. It could also seal up with the suit's vacuum system to make the Trooper able to do EVA activities. The helmet was designed to withstand shrapnel, small arms fire, and small explosions as well as having some level of resistance to energy weapons used by the Covenant; it was also armed with a smart data system that had a HUDS that possessed a targeting reticule, ammunition counter, basic health monitoring system , weapon information due to the ability of the system melding with the wearer's Neural Interface Implant to provide greater amounts of information.

And the helmet had an integrated VISR or Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance system. This was a system that had the basic functions of a HUDS but had the ability to interface with any form of infrastructure systems such as those used by the UEG, UNSC, and the CAA in local, national, and global system levels. Access was naturally limited by the need and clearance markers, though in this case, he didn't have to worry about that, this allowed the user to store and review gathered intelligence information though it could only store up to 610MB worth of information. It had street level navigational systems, and an advanced data receiving and encryption systems to get information that was secured from hacking and interference. The VISR can also coat a special identification outline for objects, yellow for objects of interest, blue for allies, and red for targets.

All in all, by this reality's standards it was a top of the line armor system that would be worth a fortune to own and produce as well. It was a treasure throve of information and construction in itself and dwarfed most of the equipment used by the militaries of today.

However, compared to the MJOLNIR Mark VI Powered Assault Armor he wore for a long time, it was rather old and was not able to match the abilities of the MJOLNIR itself. But it did have the advantage in this kind of urban combat operations and it being night time was an extra bonus to the whole thing.

It felt somewhat odd that he would be wearing the uniform of an ODST, ever since the incident on the UNSC Atlas all those years ago where he had killed several ODSTs, there was bad blood between the Spartans and the ODSTs, though that didn't stop them from working to their best and there WERE some ODSTs who were not too bad and were not against the Spartans in battle and those men and women were all right in his book.

However, he knew that he didn't have much in terms of choice at this moment so he had to take what he could for the time being. He began to put the suit on and as soon as he was done, he placed on the helmet and heard the slight snap and hiss to show that the helmet was now fully locked in and he was ready, but he ran a test of the communications uplink and spoke to Cortana.

"You read me Cortana?"

"Loud and clear John, I'm already downloaded the 3D map system of the area via a GPS satellite that I hacked in orbit over your location, plus I've hacked into the building's security systems and the live feeds from the SWAT teams outside. I'll quarter back for you on this operation so I hope you're up for this."

"I always am."

Cortana laughed a bit at that and her laugh was nice to his ears as he checked his gear for the mission, a couple of Emergency Medical Packets for minor injuries, a set of Health Packs, some containers of MediGel, a Sterile Field Generator and a pair of BioFoam canisters, a set of Spoofers for hacking into the security networks, some ammunition packs for his weapons, several Flash and Sonic Grenades, and to his surprise a packet of TTRs or Tactical Training Rounds.

"What's with the gear?"

"Figured you can use all the advantages you can get, besides, I won't be the least bit surprised if there are injuries on the people who are being held there so they might need medical treatment. The TTRs are for the Baroness, she might be useful for gathering information for the Joes on Cobra's actions as of late."

"Nice."

"Happy you like it, we need to hurry, who knows how long it might be before the Joes are on site."

John nodded as he got out his guns; he had with him a fully modified MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle with an integrated silencer and flash suppressor attachment, he also had also a M6C/SOCOM next to the arsenal and as soon as he checked himself, he took out several smaller throwing knives that were going to be useful for silent attacks in battle, they were in a holster on his left thigh while having a pair of Flash and Sonic Grenades on the belt on his body.

He checked his gear and when he was sure that everything was an all go ahead for the operation, he headed for the lower floor, keeping well out of sight and as soon as he reached a nearby sewer grate, he moved it off and slid in, as soon as he was in the sewer system, he placed the grate back and moved through the area, he used the map of the sewage system to reach the area of the building and he could see that he was at least several blocks away from the area of the building, he made sure to check his area while using his augmented vision plus that of the VISR to move around in the sewers, he strained all his honed military senses to get a feel of the location he was in and move quickly through the area without attracting any unneeded attention to himself.

As he moved to the target, he could hear the movements of the water below him, the sounds of the pipes and the movements of the animals below and on top, this was not the first time he did this and he was happy that the ODST gear was holding up, he looked at the map and saw that after an hour or so of walking, he had arrived in the area where the building was. He stopped to get his bearings while Cortana fed him some of the technical information.

"John….in the area of your arrival, there appears to be a door next to the garage of the building itself, as far as I can see, there is no sign of any Cobra patrols for the time being."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, make it quick, night's not going to last forever so speed is vital here."

John nodded and moved out, he climbed up and as soon as he was clear, he quickly pushed open the nearby sewer grate and after placing the grate back down, he moved to the door and looked to see it being locked, as he got closer however, the door suddenly opened to show a Cobra Trooper apparently checking things out on the outside, the Spartan quickly raised his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and plugged the man dead with a round right between the eyes. The man dropped back and the Spartan was quick to move in and drag the corpse away and push it underneath a nearby car.

He spotted another pair of Cobra Troopers and he moved through the shadows and he then reached the light controls, he could see that they were not packing NVGs and decided to make them pay for it as he hit the switch, the pair only had enough time to cry out in surprise when they were plunged into darkness, they were then shot quickly and were dead.

As soon as the guards were out, John contacted Cortana and spoke to her.

"I'm in the building."

"Ran into trouble getting in?"

"A trio of Cobra Troopers, they're dead."

"Good, I just got word that the police and SWAT teams have been joined by the Joes, they're not making any moves on the building as of yet John, but we'd better hurry, let's get this mission done and fast, I'll cut out the silent alarms and lights to give you cover for the attack, get ready to move on my marks, as far as I can figure, there are at least five or six guards in each floor with regular pairs in intervals in between."

John nodded as he moved out, since he and Cortana were using heavily encrypted communication systems, anyone hacking around was not going to have an easy time tracing them, the only problem with him not wearing the MJOLNIR Mark VI was the fact that Cortana was not with him to further increase their chances as the ODST BDU didn't have an internal data matrix to carry an A.I and therefore, in order for him to get updates on mission objective, he would have to stop and hold position, an unattractive option in battle if caught in a tight spot.

As soon as he cleared the room he was in, he began to move through the building, quickly taking out any Cobra Trooper in the area that he ran into, he also saw the results of the attack of Cobra when he found a number of dead employees, some of them were men and women and it made the Spartan II a bit more focused in ending the threat of the Cobra forces that were now infesting the whole building itself. He made it to the first floor and quickly took out a pair of Cobra Troopers who had just turned to move back through their path in the building, the two dropped quickly as they both were shot by the rounds in the back, the Spartan then moved in closer to recover their bodies and dragged them away to hide them. He looked about and headed to the door of the first floor as the second floor was connected to the other floors by stairs and an elevator system, he couldn't take the elevator since that would tell the Cobra forces that someone was trying to get in the building, as soon as he was in position he spoke to Cortana quietly.

"Ready to go."

"Good, I'll kill the lights and then lock the other doors, and kill the alarms, move in fast and hard."

As soon as the lights in the corridor died out due to Cortana hacking into the building's control system, the Spartan made his move as he kicked down the door, seeing that the floor had just been bathed in darkness, but his augmented eye sight, aided by the systems in the ODST's helmet was more than enough for him to see his targets as he quickly took down two Troopers, they dropped dead and he quickly moved out, taking his Combat Knife and stabbing a Crimson Guard officer into the kidney and covering his mouth, the man gasped as he fell dead, and the Spartan II then moved to eliminate the others and they were quickly killed by several well placed bursts by the MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and they fell down, Cortana looked through both the helmet cameras and then turned back on the lights.

She had also made sure to have the cameras in the building have no record of the Spartan's assault to make sure that when the CIA and the Joes took back the facility, they were not going to have an easy time of locating any information on who had just came into the area and kicked the holy hell out of the Cobra forces in the building. As soon as the first floor had been cleared of enemy forces, the Spartan II made his way up the stairs, quickly and quietly as he reached the door that led into the second floor, he then heard the door opening and he took out his M6C SOCOM pistol and shot the Cobra Trooper as he turned. The man only gasped as he saw his frightened visage in the polarized visor of the ODST helmet as he was killed quietly through a round between the eyes.

The Spartan took the body and moved in to the corridor just as the lights went dead, surprising another pair as the Spartan rushed them quickly to take them out, one had his neck broken as the Spartan lashed out with a vicious strike with the butt of his Assault Rifle on the face, breaking the bone that connected the head to the neck, the other had his weapon moved out of the way as the Spartan placed his weapon right as his chest and perforated him, the Trooper was now riddled with four bullets, all in center mass at the heart, killing him quickly.

As soon as they were dead, the Spartan got ready for another room clearing run, and then it was when Cortana told him that she had hacked the Cobra Trooper's communication systems and was now cutting them off from communicating with one another bit by bit and room by room, with the cameras offline and not recording the attacks, Cortana killing the lights, and now cutting the Cobra troopers from one another, the whole mission had just turned into a full scale turkey shooting run, and with her scrambling the data feeds of both the Joes, police, and SWAT units outside, they had no idea that the Spartan was going to eliminate the Cobra forces while they were still there on the outside waiting to make a moment

--------

The police teams and SWAT were still on site as well as several Joes, on site were Duke, Flint, Lady Jaye, Ripcord, Airborne, Gung-ho, and Road Block, they had just gotten word from Ace that he and the others had intercepted and destroyed the Night Raven and Wild Bill, Spirit, Leatherneck had captured the pilot and he confirmed the mission, this was more than enough to get them into the area and received the covert call from Scarlett that confirmed that Cobra was indeed in the building.

Duke knew that he could trust Scarlett, but he was not excused from being somewhat worried for her safety, it was then that a message came into the network fro Durendal, the person said that someone was on site and for that moment, Duke wondered if the person was the mystery man who had devastated Cobra's base in South America. If it was they were going to have to wait and see if they could catch this guy and get some much needed answers on who he was and what was going on and if there were others like him in the whole picture before them.

--------

Inside…

As John checked the area carefully, he reloaded his spent weapon and looked about; he had managed to take out several of the Cobra Troopers in the area and collect their weapons, he had a feeling that things were going to get interesting soon enough, The first and second floors were cleared of any Cobra Troopers as he had taken them out without alerting the enemy, however he had several close shaves, one Trooper had just entered the door in one room when he was about to enter, but he quickly broke the Trooper's neck and the only reaction of the now dead trooper was a look of pain and shock at his arrival. Another had just walked in on him when he entered the second floor, but he was killed quickly with two shots in the head and the chest, and another Cobra Trooper got himself knifed in the heart when he turned to spot the Spartan who took him out quietly. Another Cobra Trooper, this time a woman managed to get off a shot but was quickly taken out by the Spartan before she could get a second clear shot at him.

Her shot attracted the others, but they were quickly taken out by the Spartan and their bodies were soon taken away to a nearby locker room to make sure that no one found them. He had worried that the others would notice the missing Troopers, however it seemed that Cobra didn't notice at all, either thinking that the Troopers were simple cannon fodder, or they were focused on their mission so much that they cared little, or both. Either way, he placed that aside as he finally saw that his foes were all dead and he then dragged the bodies away from sight, so far, the enemy had no idea what was going on and as far as he got information from Cortana, the others were not aware of his movements either due to her work on the cameras and lights, as well as her hacking into the communication systems that the Cobra forces in the building were relying on, and she had told him that the Joes were there and had taken out the Baroness' means of escape from the area. That would make things a heck of a lot easier for him in the long run as his quarry no longer had any place to hide.

As soon as h was sure that the rooms he had been to before were now fully secured and on lockdown, he then moved out to secure the remaining eleven floors of the building, but he stopped then got an incoming call from Cortana. As soon as he was sure that no one was in the area, he stopped and waited for him to get the connection signal, and as soon as he did so, he spoke to the A.I to figure what was the latest tactical data.

"What is it Cortana?"

"I just hacked into another communications feed from the Cobra forces, apparently they've got a Joe hostage in the building."

This surprised John as he had not expected that the Joes were here in the building already, and he spoke.

"Who?"

"They have Scarlett herself, apparently she had been in the building on a special assignment for the Joe Team for intel gathering purposes when the Cobra forces came in, she had tried recently to stop them but apparently they had used the threat of killing the hostages before her to stop her from doing any further damage, apparently some of the guys you took out were the same bunch she had whipped with her martial arts moves earlier."

(No wonder some of these guys were acting sluggish for some reason.)

"How come we only found out about this now?"

"Apparently she had been trying to keep out of sight earlier and had gotten word out to the Joes of the attack as well as the police and she then tried to make her break to free the hostages and buy time for the Joes, but they held her captive with a number of the other agents of the CIA in one of the money storage rooms. The Cobra high command wants her in lockdown and as an example to the Joes once they blow up the building."

"The room she and the agents are in is sealed up by several layers of bullet resistant glass and has a standalone security alarm that will immediately trigger if the glass is broken, that will alert Cobra if she breaks out, they also have three bombs in the area that would send the whole place falling down if they find out that the Joes or the police are making an attack into the area. I guess that means we have to do an explosive ordnance removal and a rescue mission then."

John nodded and despite the fact that this was not something he was ready for, he no other choice at the moment since it seemed that the mission was going to be a tough one.

"Data on where the bombs are?"

"My analysis of the data shows is that the bombs are located in key areas of the building that if they are detonated, they would have the most damage without wasting a lot of ordnance, there's one in the fifth floor which is tied to several other explosive charges in key points in the support sections, another in the tenth floor near the main support area and also where Scarlett and company are being held, and the next is located two floors above the second, apparently there is more to the whole trap than just one massive bomb.. You'd best move on John, the first bomb is at least two floors above you."

"Recommendations?"

"We need to see just what's the construction of the bomb so we can disable it and make this mission a heck of a lot easier by any standard, I can wager a guess that the Cobra Troopers might be protecting the bomb itself until given the order to pull out. Once I have an idea on how to take this bomb apart and stop it from sending any signals to both the other bombs and the Baroness, then we can get to freeing Scarlett and the others, they can help us get the Baroness and prevent the whole thing though they will need some medical treatment, however, rescuing them might pose a problem though."

"How so?"

"The fact is that they might try to take you in for question is more than enough John, I can change the way you speak to hide your voice when you use the mike on the helmet and I can easily hide my voice form their hearing, but if they try to capture you for answers, then that's where things get complicated, Scarlett's an ally and so are the CIA agents, but we can't afford to be found out, killing them is naturally out of the question since we'll be labeled as terrorists so you're going to have to get creative."

John however already had an idea.

"How many TTRs did you give me?"

--------

The first room with the bomb…

The Cobra Troopers were currently bored, hoping to finally get the all clear to vacate this bomb site and join up with the others, there were at least ten of them and half their number had turned the area into a strong point to guard the weapon, though they were not all that happy since the SWAT and the Joes had not tried anything to try and force a fight. That was both a curse and a blessing, the curs was there due to the fact that without any activity, they were bored, and a blessing in the sense that since no one was attacking them, they could relax a bit more.

Unknown to them, they were soon going to get some excitement that was going to leave them flat on their backs, literally, they got their taste of it when they suddenly felt their comm.-links go dead and then the sudden sound of doors behind them being locked down, the group wonder what is going on as this was something that they had no idea about, but one of them thought an attack was about to happen and sure enough it was an attack when he was suddenly cut down by something when the lights suddenly dimmed, plunging the room into darkness.

They heard a door open and then turned to fire their weapons, but even with the door open, they couldn't see anything as the corridors were also dark, moving through the shadows, the Spartan was quick to take out his targets since they were still disoriented by his sudden attack in the cover of darkness as several quickly dropped by weapons fire from his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle with the silencer hiding his attacks, and since he had unaided night vision which was being supplemented by the helmets VISR, he was taking out the troopers quickly and quietly as his weapon's sound and flash was hidden away, he spotted the five other guards reach for flashlights in order to see where they were shooting and who they were supposed to be shooting at while on was screaming into her comm.-link for backup from the other forces in the area.

Cortana had already jammed their communications so no backup was coming into the floor anytime soon and with the lights and doors sealed up, the Cobra Troopers had nowhere to run or hide and no way to set up an ambush. The Spartan II quickly spotted the lights and took out those by using his MA5C, three troopers bit the dust, but then he ran out of rounds so he switched to his M6C SOCOM, dropping the last two while the other tried to escape, but the Spartan was already up and moving over several large desks and quickly moved ahead of the terrified Cobra Trooper and got ahead of him.

The only thing the female Cobra trooper felt was a sudden mass blocking her as she fell down and then a bit of pain that began to kill her slowly as she had just been shot in the chest twice, the lights came back on and she was allowed to see her group's killer, she could only gurgle out a cry of shock and pain as she looked at the Spartan II as he finally ended her life with a shot of his M6C.

As soon as he scanned the area, he spotted the bomb itself and moved towards it, it resembled the basic construction of a Covenant anti-matter bomb, though it didn't have either the look or the undeniably destructive potential of the mentioned device as it had several areas exposed to show the heavy plastic explosive load out that it had inside of itself, on it's middle area was a timer and several cords that connected the system together, he however didn't try to take it apart just yet as he began to scan the bomb while Cortana did the rest and he could hear her speak to him as she looked at the bomb.

"Hmmm….interesting construction, the core explosives by themselves could cause irreparable damage to the floor and anyone caught in the blast could be killed or critically wounded by the blast and debris . The bomb seems to be the main triggering system for the other explosives, just like when you knock out the first domino, then the others follow suit. There also appears to be some sort of warning system to prevent tampering and also act as an emergency detonation system for the explosive itself and trigger the bombs at the same time, at least there's some level of skill in the construction here."

"Can you guide me on how to disarm it?"

The A.I spoke confidently and began to study the device, as soon as she was done, she instructed the Spartan II to remove the receiver system of the bomb, this would make sure that it would not be remotely detonated while using some simple parts to create a special bridge that would prevent the emergency detonation system from going off prematurely, it was a temporary thing but it worked as the bomb was still not exploding, the Spartan II then gingerly removed the transmitter of the explosive that would detonate the other charges in the floor itself. As soon as that was done, the Spartan II began to slowly remove the explosive material from the inside of the bomb itself. All in all, he had removed nearly several hundred pounds of C4 explosives, more than enough to destroy the floor and level it and kill anyone well within the area. As soon as the explosive materials were removed from the bomb itself, the weapon was now nothing more than a useless pack of parts and metal.

However, that certainly didn't mean that the threat was over, the Spartan then moved to the door and as soon as Cortana opened it, he made his way through the building, carefully checking the area with his weapons fully reloaded, the next two floors only had a handful of sentries in them and those were quickly eliminated by the Spartan though he made sure to conserve his ammunition to make sure that he didn't suddenly run out of rounds during the mission itself. He used both his MA5C and the M6C SOCOM in each floor to eliminate the targets before him and on the way he eliminated a squad of Cobra Troopers and their Crimson Guard officer quickly and quietly.

The group apparently had Scarlett's crossbow and bolts with them as some sort of trophy and apparently the Crimson Guard officer was among those injured by the woman in battle earlier. The group were stunned when the corridor suddenly lost power, trapping them in the dark when the Spartan II appeared before them in the same darkness, they were suddenly greeted by a Flash Grenade and were quickly taken out by the Spartan II with several precise shots and a simple Knife throw that ended the life of the Crimson Guard officer.

--------

Once he got the gear, he made his way to the floor where Scarlett and the others were being held by Cobra, after killing several more patrols and the soldiers in the floors with a combination of bullet, knife attacks and hand to hand attacks, all that left more than enough bodies to warrant the place to redubbed a meat locker as there were blood pools and lines everywhere and there were bodies there as well who were the Troopers he had killed but didn't have the time to hide from sight, he stopped inside a nearby room adjacent to the one where the Joe team member was as Cortana updated him on the situation in the room..

"There are at least twenty guards there, way more than usual so you're going to have to move fast and hit hard John, the first half are in the outer areas of the room, while the other ten are there near the sealed room. You'll need to move fast, I've managed to keep the rest of Cobra in the dark, but it might not be long before someone stumbles on the mess you've left behind."

"Got it."

"Be ready to patch up the injured agents once the Cobra Troopers have been dealt with, some have minor and moderate wounds, but some are critical so they will need some more serious attention once this mission is over."

"Got it….kill the lights Cortana."

"And off we go…good luck John."

"I make my own luck, but thanks anyway."

Cortana smiled at that while looking through the helmet camera John wore.

(Trust him to use that quote from my 'mother')

--------

The room was still the same as before as the guards were currently moving about to make sure that the trapped CIA agents and the Joe Scarlett were kept from causing even more trouble, at the moment Scarlett had other pressing concerns like trying her best to help the injured agents with what they could use to help bind the wounds of their more injured comrades. She wished that they could escape, but if they tried that, the stand alone alarm systems would trigger and the Baroness would no doubt order the hostages killed, there was no telling how many of the staff were still in the vile woman's clutches, but Scarlett had no doubt she would kill them if they tried to escape.

She could only hope that her message to the other Joes had gotten through as she had not gotten any contact from them since the Baroness had removed her Comm. Link when she surrendered and destroyed it so she couldn't call for help anymore. She looked at the injured and knew that those who needed medical attention the most had to leave but she knew that Cobra would never le that happen and that made her all the more angry.

But she calmed herself quickly, anger was not going to be of much help here so she had to think of something. However, to her surprise, the lights in the whole room suddenly went dim and then the situation went from confusing to exciting as the Cobra Troopers outside of the room were suddenly shooting all over the place, she could see the discharge of their weapons as if they were trying to shoot something or someone and thoughts flew into her head.

(Is that the others?)

(If not….what is going on?!)

The redhead couldn't help but hope that it was indeed a rescue strike by her comrades, and she watched as the Cobra troopers appeared to be trying to fight back, the sounds of weapons fire filled the room and while she couldn't hear everything going on due to the thickness of the glass, Scarlett could hear that the sounds of the Cobra troopers' weapons going off, their shouting and a faint puffing sound, to most that would be odd, but to her battle trained senses, that sound meant only one thing….whoever was attacking Cobra was using a sound and flash suppressor on their weapons.

This was something that further surprised Scarlett as the sounds of the battle were more intense and in a moment, from a brief flash of moonlight that filtered through the laminated glass of the building, she spotted the sight of light on metal and then she heard the Cobra Troopers cry out in pain and she heard the bodies of her captors fall down hard on the ground..

--------

As soon as the last body fell the master Chief waited, he had attacked the room the very second Cortana had dropped the lights and locked down the possible escape routes out of the room, he dropped the first two Cobra Troopers and quickly took down the third when the other Troopers began to fire their weapons at his general direction, he evaded them and quickly shot the legs of two more Cobra Troopers through the desks that they were using as makeshift cover as he then leaped over the pair and shot them quickly in the head, killing them. He rolled out of the way as one Trooper tried to brazenly charge right into him, he lashed out with an elbow strike and was rewarded by the sound of the guy's neck breaking from the attack, showing that even without the MJOLNIR Mark VI, he was still able to do serious damage.

The fifth Trooper fell dead as the Spartan II quickly closed the gap and kicked one Trooper hard in the head, rewarded with the feel of the Trooper's skull being cracked hard by his kick as he was sent flying into the nearby wall, the Spartan quickly turned and fired several quick bursts into three more of the Cobra Troopers, shredding them down with relative ease in battle, they dropped dead as he then took out his M6C SOCOM and shot down the last two, but the last one managed to fire at his direction grazing the side of his body armor, but not enough to break through the titanium ceramic plating.

The Spartan then moved in to eliminate the other guards and did so with excellent marksmanship but he decided to save his ammunition and took out his knives, he fired them at the last remaining five guards, hitting them in their vital areas at the neck, killing them quickly and easily just as the lights in the building finally came back on.

--------

Scarlett was stunned as she looked at the sight before her, and she could tell that the CIA agents were also shocked by the sight before them as well. The Cobra Trooper guards who were watching the room through the bullet resistant glass and door where they were prisoners were all dead with what appeared to be knives in their throats and there before her and the others was a man dressed in what was the most advanced looking set of equipment she had ever seen before in her life and some sort of advanced looking assault rifle. The only things that seemed to indicate him being a soldier was a symbol of an eagle and a globe underneath with the letters UNSCDF on the left shoulder plate. Unknown to Scarlett, the left shoulder pad was usually the UNSC MED REF patch that was used to help medics get basic medical data on the trooper if he or she needed medical attention. But Cortana had that removed to make sure to keep John's identity a greater secret, the only thing she had done was use the UNSC symbol and that was it.

The man or whatever he was then moved to the door and seemed to be studying it, no doubt trying to find a way to break into the area to get to them, she however decided to try and stop him.

"Wait!!! The doors are sealed! You'll trigger…."

The red haired G.I Joe member however was surprised when the man took out a large pack and opened it, and took out something that seemed to stick to the door. What she was looking at was a UNSC Spoofer, this device was a highly advanced piece of equipment used by all UNSC field personnel to bypass security systems on the ground by using electrical currents and data-streams to unlock doors that were on security lockdown, damaged or not working.

The disguised Spartan locked on the device and quickly tapped in the code sequence and soon was rewarded with the device telling him that the door was all clear and unlocked, that was followed by the sounds of the door's locking bolts moving away, with that he opened the door and moved in, he placed aside his MA5C and checked the groups and saw them to be restrained by hard tape, he took out his knife and freed her first, Scarlett turned and looked at him, trying to see any facial features but the polarized visor hid anything from her eyes so she spoke.

"Who are you?"

John replied, with his voice being modified by Cortana's actions on modifying the speakers on the helmet to distort his voice and keep his identity secret.

"My name is not important Ma'am, all you need to know is that I'm here to rescue you and help you retake this facility. Cobra's trying to access the accounts of the CIA as well as gather information on the black ops missions being run, we need to hurry and stop them from completing their mission. Anyone here injured?"

The CIA agents looked at their savior and some nodded, the man looked at them and quickly moved to check their wounds, he then took some items from that pack and began to treat the wounded, the agents didn't do anything as of yet, as they were still trying to make sense of who their savior is as he meticulously patched up the injuries that they had on them as well as heal those who had taken considerable hits when they tried to fight back and paid for it.

Scarlett was tempted to try and get some more answers from the man, but decided against it, whoever he was, he had a point, if she wasted time trying to interrogate him then Cobra would get what they came for, but that didn't mean she was not going to try and get some much needed answers from the man. The woman watched as he treated the injured agents, some crying in pain for a moment until the pain stopped. Those who were like that looked at the wounds and the man replied.

"That's only temporary; you'll need full medical attention in a few hours once the sealant wears off. But that should give you a chance to heal up properly, in the mean time, you had better get some weapons."

With that, the man walked back and got his own weapon and checked it out for any damage, Scarlett took the time to admire the weapon and had to admit that whoever was arming this man, he or she knew her weapons. She then heard him speak in that moment.

"Durendal, what's the report on the Baroness?"

That name was enough to get Scarlett's attention even more but try as she might, she had no way of hearing Durendal's voice, and she couldn't as Cortana had made sure to allow only John to hear her voice and not have it shown to the outside world allowing for more private communications between the two of them. As soon as that was done, he looked at her and spoke seriously.

"The Baroness is currently trying to access the main terminal on the upper floor, Durendal's doing all things possible to slow her down as well as isolate her and her guards, but it won't be long until they get wise we need to hustle it and stop her cold, I got your crossbow and arrows from the guys who had them."

"You found them?"

The Spartan II nodded and moved out of the room, allowing the CIA agents to get the weapons of the slain Cobra Troopers and Scarlett to find her weapon of choice as well as the supply of crossbow bolts that she used on a nearby table that John had placed them on earlier when he attacked the room, with that, they were all armed and ready for a moment's notice, but the Spartan II then spoke to them once more.

"They set bombs to bring the whole building down once they got what they came for, I've disabled the first one and it's support explosives, but there's another one on the next set of floors, we'll need to take it out beforehand."

The group nodded, many still unsure of what to make of the soldier before them, he was not police or SWAT or any branch of the military that they knew of, As Scarlett took her crossbow in hand and loaded it with a bolt, she looked at the Spartan II, trying her best to figure this man out and find out as much as she could, namely on why he seemed to know Durendal.

However, the CIA agents had other ideas on how to get the answers from the disguised Spartan II….unaware that the Spartan II had plans of his own when they made the move on him. The group managed to fight their way through the Troopers who were guarding the bomb while still trying their best to contact the Baroness of the sudden attack, but Cortana was still jamming their communication systems so the Baroness was still in the dark, but after dealing with the last few troopers and then finishing the last work on the bomb with Scarlett's help, the Spartan II took one of their radios and gave it to Scarlett and he spoke.

"Tell the others that the area is secure, and there is another bomb there to disarm, Durendal will jam the radios of the Cobra forces to give you the element of surprise to disarm the last explosive which is the same setup as before, I'll go through the Troopers and slow down the Baroness."

Scarlett tried to stop him, but to her amazement, the man took off at a run that was amazingly fast and he was gone from the room like a blast of wind, much to her shock and that of the CIA agents, one thing was certain to her, their unknown ally was not your regular person. And that fact was soon going to be found out by the Cobra Troopers who were left in the building as the Spartan went back to work in eliminating them and allowing Scarlett and the Cobra Troopers to deactivate the last of the Cobra forces' bombs.

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In the man room…

The Baroness was not in the most pleasant of moods as she was still trying to unlock the encrypted safe to get to the main terminal where all the data was but for some reason there seemed to be some sort of programming glitch that prevented her and her team from entering the vault. They had been here for an hour or so and it made her all the more worried about what was going to happen if they were not able to get the information and get extracted by the Night Raven that was supposed to pick them up. She was unaware that the Joes had just been warned by Cortana of the Night Raven extraction and had shot down the fighter earlier with the aid of Ace, and with Cortana scrambling the Night Raven's communication systems and stealth modes, the pilot had no way to warn the Baroness that he had been found out by the G.I Joes and shot down. Cortana had also scrambled the communications of Cobra to the Baroness, cutting her off from any new information. So in essence the Baroness was all on her own thanks to Cortana's handiwork on their communications networks.

The second she heard the sounds of weapons fire and the doors falling down, she knew that there was company she reached for the detonator to warn the enemy to back off from whatever they were planning, but then she was shocked to suddenly have the detonator shot out of her hand and she was forced to raise her weapons to see just who had attacked them, she got her answer and so did the other Cobra Troopers as they were now facing none other than John-117 as he raised his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle at the ready while in his ODST armor. The Baroness was surprised by this as this was no Joe that she recognized and when the person spoke, she could tell that he was not someone to be messed with.

"You're bombs have been disabled, your troopers below dead, and your hostages freed, surrender yourselves now."

The Baroness however spoke to him.

"Who are you?!"

The Spartan said nothing just as Scarlett and the CIA agents arrived on site, the redhead had seen the handiwork of the Spartan as they made it through the floors after him once the second bomb had been dealt with, and all she saw were dead Cobra Troopers and Crimson Guard officer with either bullet or knife wounds in them or a combination of both, and many of them were having expressions of shock and pain, showing to her that the Spartan had been able to kill this many enemies with ease.

It was now a standoff as the Baroness only had a handful of Troopers with her while Scarlett had the CIA agents and the disguised UNSC Spartan II Commando with her, all it took was one more…and one panicky Cobra Trooper started it and all hell broke loose….just as Duke and Company were now making their way to the building accompanied by SWAT units and the Police.

Things were about to get interesting!

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To be continued…

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Author's notes:

No rest for the wicked huh? It seems that both Cobra and the Joes are still scratching heads on who had been there in the base in South America though Cobra Commander is the far more animated one of the Cobra command crew who comments on the whole thing. The Baroness has hacked the Joes' database and now is making her move on the CIA to get their data and their finances as a way to get even for the loss of their operation in South America and if possible, gather information that could be valuable.

And this time, the Joes get to meet the Spartan face to face, only in this case, he is not wearing his MJOLNIR Mark VI but instead he is wearing a modified ODST Battle Dress Uniform in this mission as he had left his choice armor behind, thankfully this will further hide his identity and make it even harder for the Joes to tell who is how and the same goes for Cobra. Though Cortana's cover name of Durendal is heard by Scarlett, she is not able to hear Cortana's voice, further hiding the truth.

And if the CIA makes a move to get answers once this is over, the Spartan II is ready for that to happen., however, now that the Joes and the police are coming into the building, just what is the Spartan going to do to get out of this mess?

Find out soon!!!


	4. Chapter 4

G.I Joe X Halo

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to G.I Joe and Halo so let's leave it at that…

Chapter 3

Escape

( ): Thoughts

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In the building…

The fire fight was well underway when one Cobra Trooper panicked and fired at the group, the Spartan II managed to push Scarlett out of the way without sending her flying back to avoid the shot as the weapons fire from the panicky Cobra Trooper burned a hole into the wall, the group of Scarlett and the Spartan II quickly began to trade fire with the Cobra forces and the result was going to be a serious one, however while this was going on, he was talking to Cortana to plan out the escape route.

"Chief…there happens to be a nearby building to the left side of the complex, it's at least ten stories high and should be helpful for your escape."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Remember that stunt you pulled out in deep space in the first Battle of Earth with that Covenant Bomb? And that time you left Hotel Zanzibar in a hurry?"

John thought it over quickly while killing a Cobra Trooper with two shots dead center on the head and throat and he then replied calmly while the firefight was getting very chaotic, the Cobra Troopers had used several upturned desks as barricades and were fighting back under the direction of the Baroness as Scarlett and the CIA agents shot back. He then spoke to the A.I without alerting the others to the ongoing discussion between them as he calmly fired another burst of his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle to catch yet another unlucky Trooper right in the chest with three rounds, killing her quickly.

"You think that it will work?"

"We don't have much choice, I'm tracking the movements of the Joes and Police and they are already up seven floors, they move rather fast and will be there soon enough so you're going to have to do something drastic, you can't fight your way through them and going back the very same way that you came in is not going to cut it. You're body can handle that as long as you time your movements and land just right."

"Hmmm…risky, but what the heck."

"Hey, need I remind you that you got out of a ship flying through the Earth's atmosphere by leaping out into a two kilometer fall?"

"Right, time to end this."

The Spartan then reloaded his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and did the same to the M6C SOCOM and then took out a pair of Sonic Grenades and then armed them as soon as he could, and tossed them quickly over their own barricades and then grenades sailed over the heads of the Cobra forces and the Baroness was naturally the one who spotted them as they sailed over her head and she shouted out the order for her group to move out the area immediately. But that was more than enough for the Spartan to quickly take out several more of the Cobra Troopers with precise shots to the head as he leaped out of the barricade and charged right t the Cobra Troopers, just as the Sonic Grenade finally exploded, unleashing powerful sound waves into the room that hurt the ears of the people, except the Spartan II since he had gotten used to the sound and had adapted well enough to it as well as the helmet of his ODST uniform filtering out the remaining sound waves that were there.

As soon as he landed, he quickly made short work of several still disoriented Cobra Troopers who had expected the weapon to be a fragmentation grenade and not a sonic weapon, several Cobra Troopers are quickly subdued by the Spartan and shot before they could recover, another gets a serious punch in the face and his sent flying back into the nearby glass door, breaking the glass on impact, and the Spartan quickly sends his knee right into the gut of another Cobra Trooper to send the man down in pain.

The Baroness quickly fires her weapon, recovering enough from the shock of the Sonic Grenade's explosion to attack the Spartan, John duck and the Baroness quickly charges, using her gun while taking out a Knife to kill the Spartan by aiming for his neck. In this distance, she believes that there would be no way that the man could move with that set of armor on.

However her assessment was wrong for two reasons, the first was that the ODST armor worn by the Chief was designed for good balance in maneuverability and the armor plating was made to be light weight, and that would increase the speed and reaction time of the soldier in combat since the light armor would not hinder his combat movements or actions as well. The second was the Spartan's augmentations and years of combat experience.

As soon as she tried to attack with her knife, her hand was blocked by the MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle that the Spartan raised up with one hand and her gun was swatted aside by the Spartan with his left hand, the Baroness realized that she was in a very dangerous situation and quickly tried to move away, hoping that the Night Raven was en route and could force the unknown soldier, Scarlett, and the CIA agents to back down lest she ordered it to fire it's weapons into the population, however she was unaware that her air support was already shot down and the pilot interrogated by the Joes.

She moves back but that in itself was a fatal flaw as the Spartan quickly moved the Assault Rifle to left hand and quickly moved to take his M6C SOCOM pistol and shoots the Baroness at least six times in rapid succession, the first five rounds strike her in the arms, legs and the chest, in that moment, the paralyzing effects of the TTRs were apparent to the Cobra agent when she felt her limbs suddenly become stiff and unresponsive as the anesthetic, despite not hitting any nano-fibers still found a way to bypass through clothing she had on her and contact her skin.

The Baroness couldn't help but feel her limbs being to fall asleep, and though she could tell that the effect was not from a true bullet wound, it certainly felt like one as she fell down hard and before she could do anything, the Spartan fired another TTR and this one struck the Baroness dead center in the forehead, sending her into the embrace of unconsciousness.

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Duke and the other Joes, along with the Police and SWAT were moving in as soon as they got the call from Scarlett had the bombs disabled, Duke wanted to know but Scarlett merely replied that they were rescued and this person was working with Durendal, and they were on the way to fight the Baroness and capture her. The group moved into the building quickly and there they saw the Spartan II's handiwork and they all were shocked at how one guy had managed to not only infiltrate the building WITHOUT them spotting him at all, but defeat this many Cobra Troopers without being detected, Duke quickly spotted the shell casings and decided to take some for evidence later.

He knew that he was going to be in a legal battle with the law for the shells as evidence, but it was going to crack the code well enough on who this mystery soldier was. All he could hope for was that Scarlett would be able to keep the person there long enough to get some much needed answers. The one thing that worried him was how things were going on at the fifteenth floor as they were already up to the tenth floor.

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In the fifteenth floor…

As John checked the Baroness, he was confident that she was alive and his confidence was well placed as the TTRs had done their job in tranquilizing her for the duration of several hours with the head shot that he had just used on her, the shots to her arms and legs had prevented her from escaping with the shot to the forehead being the one that drugged her to unconsciousness. TTRs had a way of stunning persons for hours depending on where they were shot, with the head being the most easy to hit for a full tranquilizing effect. He checked her breathing and pulse, showing to him that she was still very much alive since the TTRs only affected the voluntary skeletal muscles on the person he then took out some rope and tied her up to further ensure that she was going to stay there until she was taken into custody.

"She'll be fine in a few hours once the anesthetic wears off."

That was when the Spartan II turned to see the CIA agents aiming their weapons at him, he had expected that and he could see that Scarlett was also surprised by the actions of the CIA agents, he however had expected that and was not too bothered by the sudden change as Scarlett was as she spoke to the agents.

"What are you guys doing?!"

"Sorry Ma'am, but we need to take him into questioning to find out who he is and who is he working for."

Scarlett would have preferred it better that they talked this over, after all, they owed this guy their lives since he had been the one who rescued them, she could hear from her newly recovered communications link that Duke along with the other Joes and the Police were already coming into the last three floors of the building and she hoped to get the man to come peacefully.

"Wait a minute here! He saved our lives."

"Yeah, but we have to bring him in either way."

That was when the Spartan II spoke to them in amazingly cam fashion.

"I actually had a feeling you guys were going to try that, that's why I came prepared."

Before the CIA agents could react, the Spartan II moved with his augmented speed and reflexes and shot them with the M6C SOCOM pistol since he had placed aside his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle on the floor before, the results were worth it as the agents were quickly taken out in a non lethal fashion and dropped down alive but unable to move as they were shot with amazing speed in the arms, legs, and foreheads. In that instant, all the CIA agents were sent into the realm of unconsciousness by the Spartan's deadly skills as the TTRs that hit them immediately took effect on their bodies.

Scarlett tried to react to the sudden change but the Spartan was MUCH faster as he turned around and knocked aside her crossbow and shot her as well with the last remaining TTRs, the shots hit her in the thighs and stopped her from moving forward to attack the Spartan as John moved away from her as she fell down in surprise, she looked at the Spartan with shock at what he had done as he got his Assault Rifle back and she spoke.

"What….did you do that for?!"

"Sorry….but I don't plan on getting caught."

With that the Spartan II took out the last of his Flash Grenades, he removed their triggering pins and dropped one of them and tossed it to the corridor just as the reinforcements were moving in, he then quickly went down and grabbed his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and then took to a large run TOWARDS the nearby window much to the Joe's shock as she barely had enough time to close her eyes and cover her ears as the Flash Grenade went off, it was at that exact moment that the Spartan smashed through the glass, Scarlett had managed to prevent herself from being totally blinded by the sudden detonation of the Flash Grenade so she was able to see the Spartan leap through the window to her utter shock.

(Is he trying to commit suicide?!)

Despite the fact that her legs were still very much stunned by the anesthesia, she moved to see what would happen, to her shock the man had cleared the whole distance of the two buildings which was at least thirty or thirty five feet from one another and soon enough she was greeted by the sight of the Master Chief smashing through the windows of the building and landing into the building's tenth floor and was quickly immersed into the shadows as no one was there in the building.

Of course….the Master Chief's exit did NOT go unnoticed by everyone…

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Several of the onlookers down below suddenly heard the massive explosion of glass over their heads and looked up to see a dark figure leaping right out of the building where the Police had just entered in order to deal with the terrorists when they spotted a man actually leap out of the building from the fifteenth floor! Those who saw the whole thing were quickly trying to find out just what was it they saw as TV crews and journalists turned their cameras to try and get a glimpse what had just happened.

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Duke, the other Joes and the Police had just recovered from the sudden shock of a Flash grenade going off. The Spartan had quickly calculated how far and how fast he needed to toss the weapon and when he did so, it had landed right in front of the reinforcements heading in his now vacated position. The Joes, being military personnel quickly reacted to the sight of the weapon and hit the ground and so did the SWAT teams, but there were those in the later group and the police were NOT able to get ready for the blast and soon enough were blinded.

As soon as they recovered, some stayed behind to help their blinded colleagues while the rest of them pushed onwards to see what had happened and just who threw that grenade their way and where did it suddenly come from.

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CRASH!!!!

As the Spartan got to his feet, he felt some pain hit him as his legs ached from the landing, nothing he couldn't handle though as he was up and about in mere moments, he knew for a fact that if he didn't have the ceramic ossification procedures on his bones, he would have been crippled or killed from what he had attempted to do just moments before. This wasn't the first time he jumped out of high places and it was a source of both amusement and irritation for people, he recalled how his late friend Sergeant Avery J, Johnson reacted when he and the Marines found him after he leaped out of the Forerunner Key-ship and how Cortana had teased him in Hotel Zanzibar after she had seen him leap out of the Orbital Defense Platform Cairo during the first battle with the Covenant Fleet led by the Prophet of Regret. But he placed that aside as he looked behind him to see that he had gone down a number of floors from the previous building and decided to get a move on, the only way to his ride was the route he had taken and it would take too long for him to cross the street and he naturally ran the risk of being intercepted by the police on site.

He looked at the floors that were left and making a quick analysis, made his decision despite the fact that his leap did have some effect on his body as his legs felt a bit tingly though he could tell that since he could still stand up and move his limbs at the moment, he then took off to a high speed run and naturally the results were interesting as he leaped out of the same hole that he had made when he had gone into the building in his very first leap.

As soon as he leaped through the glass hole, he was once more crossing the distance between the buildings, the only difference was that he was now going down to hitting the fourth floor of the building and it was going to be another LOUD entry.

And like before his sudden reappearance from the building he had just vacated had been seen by the onlookers who were naturally stunned at the sight before them, they had thought the guy would have either missed or died on impact, but now there he was again, leaping across from the building he had just entered in the most spectacular way and entering the same building he had just vacated not moment before.

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Scarlett couldn't help but be utterly shocked at the sight as the Spartan II had just leaped OUT of the ten story building that he had just landed into and was now crashing towards the building they he had been in once more, landing a full seven stories down this building, just as Duke and the others went into the current floor where she was and the second in command of the Joe team spoke to her.

"You all right?"

"Yeah…"

It was then that the Joes and the Police and SWAT went to work to secure the surviving Cobra Troopers and the Baroness to make sure that they were not going to become threats

"Where did the guy go?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you…."

It was then than the Police heard the report and were on their way to try and intercept the Spartan II.

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CRASH!!!!!

The Spartan II had managed to land unharmed through the windows of the fourth floor area of the building and as he looked, he found himself in front on an utterly terrified female Police officer who had fallen back, apparently she had been guarding the room when he landed through the area with a massive explosion of glass, that action was more than enough to make her fall back and hit a nearby post and she was terrified of him. The Spartan got to his full height and that was when the police officer fainted, he made sure to check if she was all right and when he was assured from his examination that she was going to be fine, he decided to head out, but not before taking the last of his Flash Grenades and set up a make shift trap just in case some of the others upstairs tried to follow him. Once that was done, he moved through the last floors and managed to evade the new arrivals by sticking to the shadows as Cortana did the same thing as before and killed the lights, he then would use his TTRs to shoot the Police Officers who were in his way, stunning them quickly and efficiently without attracting any attention to himself.

As soon as he left the building, he made it to the sewer grate that he had used to enter the building before, and he was told by Cortana that she had no disengaged herself from the system of the building and had detected the explosion of the Flash Grenade trap that he had set up, as soon as he was back into the sewer tunnels, he moved out and an hour or so afterwards on full speed, he made it back to the car park, he calmly made his way out of the area, and then placed down his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and grabbed a nearby car, with his augmented strength he was able to lift half the car and drag it over to the manhole covering and place it down on the manhole, effectively sealing off any attempt to follow him.

With that that part of the whole situation out of the way, he moved back to his Warthog and assessed his injuries, they were relatively minor and he took out the canisters of Medical Gel and patched up the light injuries and took off the rest of his ODST uniform, starting with the helmet, the rucksack, then the suit itself and placed the whole thing into the storage crate, he then placed in the MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle into the back and his M6C SOCOM and cleaned himself a bit before boarding his Warthog.

As dawn was soon coming, John checked the area and began to drive out of the car-park and head off to a designated pick up point while Cortana maintained her access to the police and military communication networks as she guided John out of the city using routes that would ensure that he would avoid any possible encounter with the police and more. It was going to be a long trip but with Cortana's guidance, the Master Chief was able to make his way out of the area and headed back to the US/Canadian border, once he was there, he could cross over easily and make his way back to the base.

It took some hours when he got there early in the morning, he was hungry to say the least so before he crossed the border he grabbed a light meal and when he was finished, he got back to his trip to the border.

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One day later…

John, wearing only his basic clothing and not his MJOLNIR Mark VI Powered Assault Armor at the moment walked over to the command center of his base camp and sat down, it had been some tome since the last mission and he relaxed a bit just as Cortana reappeared in the holo-tank, she was smiling at him and decided to talk to him about his latest escapade.

"You said to me once that I made the papers, well, guess what, so did you."

"What do you mean by that?"

Cortana grinned and turned in the computer monitor screen and showed him the latest reports of the news as a blonde female news anchor gave the news.

"The latest headlines from around the world will be shown later this day, but the most pressing headlines is here in the United States itself, or more to the point in McLean, Fairfax County Virginia. Not less than two days before, a regular office building for banking and trade was attacked by agents of Cobra who apparently, according to sources on the ground had targeted the facility to gather funds."

"This is usually where our nation's special mission forces known to us citizens as the G.I Joes come in to handle this threat, but amazingly it seemed that someone else had literally beaten the Joes to the punch. This person in question had somehow engaged the Cobra agents and eliminated most of them through the use of force and helped subdue the others including one of Cobra's top agents, known only at the Baroness."

"The startling thing was that this unknown person was seen, actually leaping OUT of the building's fifteenth floor and landing on a nearby building and apparently seemed to have recovered and REPEATED the exact same process, getting back into the building he had just left and then escaped the custody of the Joes and that of Virginia's police force and even today, there has been no trace of him at all. Our attempts at seeing anything that would identify him have proven to be failures and there has been no word from other sources, though we do have a witness, one Police officer named Tanya Harris who apparently had been on one of the building's lower floors when the person actually crashed through the window and was before her. She had been rushed to the medical center and is in good health."

"As of now she is yet in the recovery room due to the shock she had according to her attending physicians though she is totally unharmed, sources have also confirmed that this stranger had used some sort of….forgive us since we ourselves are still processing this information…tranquilizer ammunition that works in the same way as paint balls to subdue a number of the people in the building, while a majority of the Cobra forces were killed with a combination of bullets and apparently physical attacks and knives according to the coroner's office when the bodies were brought in for autopsy, the others including the Baroness were shot with these rounds that paralyzed them and left them unable to move."

"The building's security teams attempted to capture the person for questioning but they too had been shot as well with the same rounds as were a number of police officers, all of whom are already recovering from the experience. No visual records have been found in the building's security cameras and even the feeds of both police and SWAT units at the scene of the crime, leaving some conspiracy theorists to state that he was not working alone and someone aiding this stranger had tampered with the records to hide the man's identity."

"While there has been no official statement from the building's owners or that of the Police on how this had happened, we can only hope that is not a sign of troubling times. The G.I Joes team members themselves have not offered statements as of this time as they are focused in a currently ongoing legal battle with the government to turn over evidence recovered from the scene."

As soon as the new report ended, the UNSC A.I spoke to her long time protector and grinned a bit at him as she talked to him, telling him that she had been rather busy.

"I just hacked into the Cobra database network and they are in an uproar, they are doing their best to track us but they haven't been able to gather a single shred of information about our movements as of this time so we still have the advantage of stealth so to speak."

John sighed and spoke.

"I wonder how the Joes are handling this news?"

Cortana smiled at that and replied.

"I also hacked their communications network on the fly. They are also in the dark and at this moment, they are trying to get as much data from Scarlett as possible and General Hawk is currently spending yet another three or four days in Washington trying to dig up anything that they could find, so far the only things they can say for certain is that UNSC symbol on your ODST disguise and they are trying to figure out other things as well."

"So far, Cobra might make a rescue attempt for the Baroness, but Cobra Commander has order a halt on all operations until they try to find out who is leaking their information. We might not be able to stop any new missions, but their retreats will force them to halt their actions for the time being, that will make things a lot easier for now, plus even if they tighten their defenses, I can still hack into their database and gather any more information we can pass on to the Joes to really give Cobra a headache."

John smiled at that and decided to take the time perfect his skills while Cortana decided to busy herself with gathering more information on current G.I Joe activity. But before he left she spoke to him about something.

"By the way, the Joes got some of the things you left behind, shell casings, for both the MA5C and the M6C SOCOM, the containers for the Medi-Gel and the Biofoam, and a Spoofer, but I have that covered."

John nodded as he knew that Cortana was right about that regard, she had installed special features into his gear that would prevent it from being studied, non lethal to be sure, but it would ensure that the items would not last long at all.

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In the Pitt…hours after the Joes finally won the legal battle…

Duke looked over all the information that they have compiled on this mystery man and there was a sketch of the Spartan in his ODST Armor as well as the weapons he had on as well as some of the items that were recovered from the building that they had been able to get from the police when they had won some parts of the legal battle. Around Duke at this moment were Scarlett, Flint, Lady Jaye, Lifeline, Doc, Leatherneck, and Wetsuit.

The US Navy SEAL and the US Marine were still getting on each other's from time to time and for this moment they were silent as they were called in to see if they recognized the symbol that was seen by Scarlett when she had seen the person before them, from what they could get from the battle, they found shell casings and also some of those small canisters and amazingly enough, one of the Spoofers, those items were currently on lock down in the Pitt and being studied by Mainframe and Breaker.

Duke then turned to Wet Suit and Leatherneck and spoke to the two men seriously.

"So, you guys recognize the symbol?"

The two shook their heads at that but Leatherneck spoke at that moment.

"I don't know much about this guy Duke, but I can tell from what I see and what Scarlett described, this guy is well trained and very dangerous, those weapons and gear he's got with him are unlike anything I've seen being used in the Corps."

Wet-Suit then spoke.

"As much as I don't want to say it Duke, I got to agree with old Jarhead here, that guy's got some serious gear with him, and there's nothing that matches in the SEAL database that matches anything that guy's got with him."

The two glared and Duke sighed a bit and spoke to Doc and Lifeline.

"What about on your end?"

Doc nodded and spoke.

"We managed to get some samples from the paint ball like rounds that hit Scarlett, the Police, and the CIA agents Duke, and they are amazingly the same to paint balls, only these appear to be totally military grade rounds, I don't know how but it seems that the rounds are made from some sort of chemical mix that has me baffled."

Flint spoke next.

"There's nothing in record on what that round was made of?"

"None, the good news is that it only affects the voluntary skeletal muscles of the target that it hits and we could say with a considerable degree of certainty is that while the substance is unknown, it is not toxic in nature as the person can recover from it in time without any ill effects. We also discovered that, depending on where he or she is shot, the round can also knock someone unconscious as well for hours."

Scarlett nodded as she spoke on the reports from the autopsy of the dead Troopers.

"He must have changed the ammunition of both weapons when we were in that fire fight since the autopsies on the dead troopers revealed that they were shot by the same 7.62x 51mm NATO rounds and also amazingly enough the rounds from his pistol seem to be something that is similar to a .50 Magnum Round, but when the wounds were checked out, they had fragmented into the body, causing more internal damage."

"You mean to say he's packing a pistol loaded with rounds that are equal to the rounds used in a Desert Eagle, Scarlett?"

Lady Jaye was utterly surprised by that as well as the others as they knew that despite it's high performance power and damage, the Desert Eagle was never used by conventional or even special forces troops since it was too high powered and heavy to use, Scarlett nodded at that.

"Right, but that pistol of his was like a lightweight pistol in his hands and here's the thing, we just found the serial numbers of both the bullets from both guns and they had the very same manufacturing date on them."

Duke spoke at that with surprise written all over his face.

"26th Century?"

"Right, and the kind of ammunition on his pistol….is unknown, we can guess that the Assault Rifle he had with him uses the 7.62X51mm rounds since I saw the weapon eject those casings, but his pistol uses a kind of ammunition that has no known match to ANY rounds we have in record but have the power to slice through body armor and people the same way a Desert Eagle round would but without it punching through the person."

Lifeline then spoke.

"We've also got the analysis on the substances he used to patch the wounds of the CIA agents and it is remarkable to say the very least. The first substance is like a combination of various medical substances, it's a space filling coagulant, anti-bacterial substance, and tissue regenerative polymer in foam form, it can be used on the skin or in the body, it can hold damaged organs in place, prevent infection, hemorrhaging and bleeding. But it is painful to the first use when we tested it, it's rated to feel like a thousand hot knives hitting you at once or fire ants biting deeply into the wound, but from what we can surmise, the pain is only on application. Another flaw is that it seems to last only for hours and breaks down after the time elapses so it's only an improvised medical option for field use."

Scarlett nodded at Lifeline's words.

"Lifeline's right, before he shot them with those tranquilizing rounds of his, he had warned them that the sealant was not going to last so they needed medical attention when the sealant wore off."

"Both are the same in some ways and different as well, I can surmise that the first is a civilian version since it doesn't fill in cavities, pack and put pressure on the wound as well but it doesn't have the pain casing effects when used like the first one does. To be honest, even with the differences and the flaws, these two substances are remarkable, they are literally light years ahead of any medical technology either Doc or I have ever seen."

It was then that Breaker and Mainframe came back into the room, and the two were covered in soot and were still coughing, Flint saw that and spoke to them in utter surprise.

"What happened to you two?!"

Breaker was the first to speak.

"We were…trying to open up that device Scarlett brought back….but it had a trap."

"What?!"

"When we….tried to pry it open, something sparked inside of it and it sudden burst into flames…ruined the entire device completely from the inside out."

Mainframe nodded in agreement as he spoke well enough without coughing too much.

"I don't know what happened inside that device but when we used the fire extinguishers and looked inside it, the entire internal structure is completely melted down, every possible way to understand how the device functions."

The Joes were unaware that Cortana had loaded the Spoofer with small packets of T.C.C or Thermite Carbon Cord a special explosive incendiary substance normally used for anti-material work by the UNSC, made from Thermite-Carbon alloy, a well recognized substance in the UNSC, this material was made by Cortana and placed in areas in the Spoofer's core components and had them wired with a series of miniature charges that were triggered by small sensors all over the Spoofer, and the sensors would ignite the charges to light up the Thermite Carbon Cord unless the scanners were deactivated by the Chief who had been given the code by Cortana to press into the keypad. If anyone tried to open it without using the code, then the sensors would fire it up and reduce the internal components of the Spoofer into nothing but melted metal and plastic.

This left the Joes with even less clues on answering the question on who this person was, but one thing was certain, they were NOT dealing with a regular soldier after all that they had learned, it was then that Duke decided to focus on the details they did know and one of them were the letters UNSCDF on the man's armor. If they could figure out which organization used these letters and the symbol, they might be able to locate any form of information this man.

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To be continued…

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Author's notes:

Kind of short to say the very least, but it wasn't really that big a situation to write about though I had to come up with some way of making it interesting for all the readers looking at this story, at any rate, this will be it for G.I Joe Halo for the time being as I have to make the new chapters of my other works as well as juggle my duties as a student in the Education area.

You can bet that things for Cobra are going to be a lot worse now that they have seen the Spartan, yet they know nothing of him and they had only seen him in the uniform of the ODSTs and not his MJOLNIR Mark VI, and the same could be said for the G.I Joes as well as they have no idea who or what he is. You can bet that Scarlett is going to have some serious thoughts on the matter and the Joes will have to do what they can to find out as much as possible on the Spartan.

And you can bet that when the Baroness recovers and is rescued from her detention by Cobra forces and then delivers her report to Cobra Commander and the rest of the Cobra High Command, things for Cobra are going to be shaken up really hard. They now have to deal with this new foe who seems to be MORE than human.

Of course, you can bet that just because Cobra's put a halt on their operations, that does not mean that Cortana and John are going to stop placing some serious damage on Cobra….though they will both covert and conventional methods to do that said damage on the Cobra forces, so expect things to get really good for the next chapters.

As for the Brutes….let's just say that they are going to have some plans in mind before they finally hit Earth. After all, there are not that many of them, and as to what sort of ship they have, I will reveal the class soon enough on the next set of chapters and it will be a ship that will REALLY get the attention of any UFO buffs on the Earth of G.I Joe and Cobra.

Now it has come to my attention that one of my reviewers wants me to try a scene in a Batman movie for kicks, and you know what? I just MIGHT do that in the coming chapters, and for kicks, we're going to have another adventure for the Chief next, we're done with the jungle so our next destination will somewhere else. I am thinking of either the desert, or the snow lands, which is best to you guys?


	5. Chapter 5

G.I Joe Halo

Disclaimer: I don't own Sunbrow and Bungie so leave it at that

Chapter 4

Boys and their Toys

( ): Thoughts

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Back in the Master Chief's base…

John was currently working on some records of the mission he had before while taking the time to have some coffee in the base's main command center while Cortana was currently maintaining her vigil on both Cobra and G.I Joe while also checking on the current events of the day. The Spartan then decided to speak to Cortana and see just what she had been able to gather in her time on the operation of maintaining her watch on the world.

"Found anything Cortana?"

The UNSC A.I appeared and smiled at her long time protector and spoke to answer his question.

"Yeah, it seems that the crime families I stole from are still trying to find us and Cobra's mounting a rescue attempt for the Baroness."

"Should we intercept them?"

"I don't recommend it, we've exposed ourselves already so I think it's best we have them recover for now, I've got a feeling that both factions will be looking for answers on who we are so let's keep low for the time being while we gather what we need before showing ourselves once, not to mention that we might need to start expanding our operational reach."

John nodded for Cortana to continue and continue she did.

"As far as I can estimate we can operate well enough here in our base and cover the North American, Canadian, and South American theaters if need be, but if we're going to do operations that go beyond these locations, then we're going to need bases that are in other areas, they don't have to be very big bases mind you, they just need to have the needed facilities and supplies to help us in our purposes as well as be hidden and away from sight."

John knew that to be true, even if this base had more than enough power to be a key part of operations, it was still strategically sound to have other bases in key areas to support the main base and cut down the cost of movement. However, he was aware that this was not going to be an easy or cheap undertaking, though they had a treasure trove of technology, information, weapons, and the like, as well as having more than ample funds, it was going to be a serious problem in terms of manpower and materials to establish a new base of operations. He made that concern obvious to Cortana as he needed to know if she had solutions to the situation.

"You do realize that it's going to be expensive to have a secondary base right?"

Cortana nodded at that and spoke.

"I'm aware of that, so I have some plans that might work. Our supplies are indeed limited at the moment, but the money we have can fix that, I've already managed to access the financial data networks and several key business websites to get access to things we might need for the construction of our bases. The foremost will be construction gear and the like, plus supplies which we can use and retrofit for our needs."

Cortana then revealed the map of Alaska and Canada and highlighted several key areas that were highlighted in green.

"These are viable locations and are not far from our current location and can be reached easily well enough, and since we have some Robotic Rovers, we can build it well out of sight, most of the bases will be underground and near the coast for easier access to the rest of the world. At any rate, we'll start with one base for now and see how it plays out. The best location will be at the Canadian coastline near our area at the Northern Territories, there's a good deal of land there that ins uninhabited, has good access to the sea and is beyond most civilian and military traffic, as well as beyond most cities and town centers."

John looked the map over and nodded a bit at the location and spoke to Cortana.

"So what's our first step?"

"First we need to get a check up on Cobra, I think it's time to rob them of their money this time around, I'll be hitting Tomax and Xamot this time so once we get this, we can rob Cobra of their ill gotten wealth and also get an idea of any other possible storehouses for their money."

"Why's that?"

Cortana grinned as she showed some images and also reports to the Spartan.

"Cobra nearly got bankrupt before, apparently they had relied on a massive single storehouse to hide all their ill gotten funds, treasures, gold, silver, jewels, relics and the like, The Joes raided it before and that nearly ended Cobra right there and then. This happened years before we came into the world so Cobra has recovered and learned their lesson. They have several larger vaults as well as smaller ones scattered around the world, so they will still be able to recover in their way with the free world and the Joes."

John nodded at that and decided to get some free time and reached for a BR55 HB SR Battle Rifle and went to the shooting range to sharpen his combat skills but not before talking to Cortana on what she had in mind.

"Call me if you need any help."

"Will do."

Once she was alone, the UNSC A.I began to get to work on the details of purchasing the supplies, equipment, and materials that would be key to the construction of their base as well as getting all the needed files and documentation for the operation itself, plus she also needed to get the data on a more precise location for the base with good access to the sea and avoiding all know shipping lanes for civilian and military vessels as well as flight paths of civilian and military aircraft.

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In an interrogation cell…

The Baroness was still as defiant as ever as several of the CIA agents tried to get some answers from her on how Cobra had planned the operation and three of the Joe Team were there, namely Lady Jaye, Scarlett, and Flint, they were there for their own reasons and one of them was to get answers on just who the mysterious attacker was, they wanted to know if by some quirk of fate, they had done something to someone that was enough for the people to fund this Durendal and equip them. As the agents moved away, that was when Scarlett and Lady Jaye took over and they were eager to find out what they possibly could on this new arrival.

"You have any idea on who the new guy is Baroness?"

The woman glared at the two Joes and replied.

"I have no clue whatsoever on as to who it was, and even if I did, I doubt I would tell you Joes."

"Really, so what's the reason this guy's been targeting Cobra all of a sudden? Have you guys done something to someone that was bad enough that they had their own private army deal with you?"

The Baroness smirked a bit and replied.

"I do not think so, why are you so curious about that anyway? Thinking that the higher ups are going to replace you Joes? I think that one had certainly gotten some skill when I fought him, I've never seen reaction times like that before in my life. Maybe Cobra would benefit if we could somehow corrupt him and turn him on you?"

The Joes were not easily fooled by the Baroness' attempts to rattle their mental cages a little but they had to admit that the situation did unsettle them somewhat as they were not keen on getting replaced just yet, however, General Hawk did state that at the moment, there was no mention from Washington on any special unit that was being assembled or any records on who this new ally was, or on who's group he or she was on. And naturally there was no mention of any agent, living or otherwise who was named Durendal.

That meant that this guy might be a rogue agent and the same could be said for Durendal as well and maybe their other forces, but without any clear evidence to provide a much clearer picture, they were still very much in the dark on the matter. And they had to deal with the media situation when the people who were there to witness the whole thing as the public wanted to know who it was and there were rumors circulating about that the new person was a covert ally of the Joes. And as much as they were themselves interested in having the Unknown Soldier or unknown soldiers on their side, there were too many things about him that were mysterious about the new group and their loyalties were naturally in question.

Lady Jaye replied to that as well once she placed aside her own thoughts on the matter.

"Let's just say that we're curious Baroness, so are you going to have us think that there's no reason why this guy and his possible posse are after Cobra like we normally do?"

"None whatsoever….why? Is he an agent of someone higher up?"

The conversation when on for a bit longer until the Baroness would have to be moved to a higher level security facility under armed guard due to her terrorist status. However, the Joes had a feeling that she was going to be busted out soon by Cobra so they decided to make sure that they had some eyes and ears on the mission itself.

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As for Cortana….she was busy, after robbing the Crimson Twins covertly of yet another seven hundred million dollars as well as another seventy million from several black market arms dealers and corrupt corporation who had just gotten their new wealth, she set about to getting the needed materials and more for the new base that they were going to set up. Not to mention the fact that she was also going to be busy getting some new weapons into play for use.

The technology here on this Earth might not be up to UNSC standards, but if there was one thing that was fairly obvious, human technology was innovative and adaptable so she was not going to have that much difficulty adapting and perfecting the technology and materials here on this world for the needs of herself and the Master Chief.

And since the secondary base was a naval base, she needed to have a ship that would fit the needs of the Master Chief as well as some smaller vessels that would be of some use for the operation ahead, but for now, the smaller ships were going to be held off from production until later, the bigger ship type was needed more for the mobility and function as a forward naval base and a gunship. Naturally there was no way that she could purchase an already existing ship as that would have been asking for trouble and too many eyes might be attracted to the sight of a massive ship in the middle of nowhere. But she already had her eye on a hull that might be of some use to her and the Master Chief, it was unorthodox for sure, but it would be more than enough for their needs.

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In one of the world's titanium mines…

The foreman had to admit that this new order than came in was very odd to say the very least, before him was an order for at least thirty tones worth of titanium, just who was going to use all that much titanium? However, this order came from higher up so he didn't have that much to complain about and the payment for the said order was more than enough to convince him to keep his trap shut.

The guy or guys paying for all this was paying at least two hundred million seven hundred thousand dollars for high quality titanium to be made as soon as possible as well as buying all their currently available stores of titanium, so the foreman didn't decide to ask as this was a huge payday for his crew and himself

They were not the only titanium mines that were contacted either as the others in different parts of the world received the same covert offers and while some of the foremen were not all that sure what to make of it at this moment, they were also more than willing to ignore it for the sake of a good chance to get paid well in the amounts that was being given to them. They were not the only ones as owners of several scrap yards for airlines got high end payments for the shipment of any surplus titanium that they had in their yards, they were also confused by this but decided to let it slide for the time being as the payday was very huge to say the very least.

Titanium mines and scrap yards that had titanium were not the only places however as several companies were given a large reward for bringing in steel that was mixed with Vanadium.

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One of the Robotic assembly firms…

The head engineer was still trying to figure out what was the need for nearly a hundred of the robotic arm assembly systems that his factory produced, he had not gotten word of a brand new factory being assembled or any need for new replacements from any of the existing factories that produced any vehicles that would normally use robotic arms or the laboratories that had them on use for any dangerous experiments. However, the documentation looked to be authentic and the payment for the equipment was more than enough for them to know that this was a very serious and official order and not something done for kicks.

The head engineer was not the only one who got the message as several other head engineers in the same kind of firms were also given them same order but for more delicate and smaller devices as well as some larger ones as well that were used for special factories that they knew needed these things.

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In another location…

The manager couldn't help but wonder on just what was going to be done with this much concrete and chemicals, he had no idea just what all this was going to be used for, but he also knew that asking questions on the matter were not going to bring him closer to any answers, all he knew at the moment was that all this had to be ready soon as it would be shipped to a location in Canada and would be used for a special construction project, one that apparently seemed to be a secret project since they didn't specify just how it was for. He would have complained had it not been for the very hefty fee involved for the work.

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Another part of the world…

The location was a massive supply market where various types of produce and meat products were currently being stored, but at the moment, a great deal of work was underway as crates filled with food and more were being packed up, nearly stripping the market bare of any produce, this was naturally met with some level of confusion by many though only two workers were currently talking about it as they were given some time off from their shift.

"You have any clue as to where all that is supposed to go?"

"Not a clue, must be one hell of a party though, I think there's enough food and drink there to feed a cruise ship's passengers and liners for a good solid ten to twelve months."

"Yeah….but you got to admit, there's some serious money involved in all this, so, you have any idea on who's paying for all this?"

"Don't know, but if the amount of fifty million dollars is anything to go by, I can bet it's some new company that wants to make some sort of impact."

That was when the foreman spotted them and checked his work sheet, calling the two of them afterwards.

"All right you two, break' over, get back to hauling more of those crates and let's get these orders packed up."

The two nodded and got back to the hauling of the crates, though the two of them were still wondering just what was going to done with all this.

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In another part of the world.

The head of the computer design and parts manufacturing firm couldn't help but rub her chin as she tried to figure out what was the reason for such a massive order of components and parts. There was enough wiring, processors, computer memory chips, motherboards, video cards, and more to build at least three to four banks of super computers, along with other highly advanced systems that could be used for other more advanced projects. It was a massive order and it was going to be a major amount of work to get this set of orders ready and set to be delivered. She still couldn't help but wonder on how to make sense of what these orders were for.

However, she could tell that this was an official order since all the paper-work was official and well made so she knew that she was naturally inclined to fulfill the part of the deal and decided to get the orders purchased, it was going to be a very long order but it was going to be a very good deal so there was no need to be serious about the purpose of the order. The one thing that bothered her lastly was the amount, while it was more than generous in amount, it raised the question on where the money had come from, though it was an official order, it was still something that had to be considered rather carefully by the woman.

But she then placed that aside, the funding was more than enough to help her company expand so she decided to let it slide for the time being and if ever the person wanted this or if it was actually a new business, then she was more than willing to let them order from her firm

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Cortana was busy as she gathered all the materials and resources together and soon had everything ready and all of that would be shipped in a matter of days and as such she decided to catch up on her favorite viewing while she sent a message to the Master Chief that she was done for the day and all they had to do now was to wait for the supplies to come on in and then they were going to have a very busy few months in setting up their new base as well as getting their new forces ready for their own debut.

She also passed on the message that the Baroness had been sprung out of her imprisonment, apparently the Cobra forces had been able to locate the armed convoy that she was being escorted in for the maximum security block that she was being sent to. John didn't like the fact that he was not going to stop them, but decided to focus on keeping himself ready for the soon to come duty of establishing a brand new base, it had been really tough for him to make the first base even with the help of the Robotic Rovers, but he was not going to give up just yet.

Besides, knowing Cortana, she might have some plans in mind when it came to getting the new base operations and ready for use, he knew that her mind needed challenges to keep her going and making a new base and who knows what they might need in their soon to be planned attack on Cobra was right up her alley so to speak.

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As for Cobra…

"Has the operation succeeded?"

Major Bludd nodded as he reported to Cobra Commander, Destro, and the Crimson Twins, they had made a rescue attempt for the Baroness, by having one of their agents slip her a small communicator chip and some explosive capsules that she would use once the strike team sent to rescue her were in position. She had been escorted in a high security convoy and was escorted by several army vehicles. But as soon as the convoy was out of the city and in the road, the strike force hit fast and hard, Cobra Stuns and Hiss Tanks came in from out of nowhere and made their move right at the convoy, several of the escort force was destroyed and the Baroness was more than ready to make her move as she used the explosive capsules and broke out, taking a weapon and killing the guards outside just as Major Bludd showed up.

"The whole mission's a bloody success sir, emphasis on the word bloody too, those idiots had no idea what they were walkin' into."

The Baroness then decided to speak to the group.

"it is good to see you again Cobra Commander, and you as well Destro."

Destro moved forward and smiled as he bowed his head a bit.

"It is good to see you as well dear Baroness, I trust the situation was not too bad?"

The Baroness grinned at that and shook her head.

"Not at all."

Cobra Commander however was not in the mood for the two evil love birds to get into the mood in this situation, sometimes he wondered why he even allowed the two of them to fraternize with one another but he decided to ignore that part as long as they kept their priorities straight and he spoke out.

"As much as I could care less when you two act like high school love birds, this is hardly the time for it, Baroness, get here ASAP and tell us what you have managed to find out on who leaked the plans for the mission!"

The Baroness didn't lose her cool and neither did Destro lose his own, they had gotten used to that and the woman nodded.

"Of course Commander."

It was hours later that the Baroness arrived on site at the current command base that she gave her report on what she had been able to get on their new enemy while being in captivity under the watchful eyes of the Joes, the rest of the Cobra High Command were eager to learn as much as they could about their foe, and what the Baroness told them was more than enough reason for them to get rather curious on what sort of organization this man belonged to, and if there were others like him. The members of High Command had to admit that they were very much surprised that the man was neither part of the Joe team and was not part of any known organization and yet seemed to be in possession of top of the line equipment considering how easily he had moved through the building without alerting their forces, despite how poorly trained the Troopers were, the troopers should have been able to send some sort of warning.

The Twins naturally spoke at that moment.

"It seems that…" started Tomax.

"…we have a new player in this war." ended Xamot.

Destro replied.

"We do indeed, this new foe may prove to be a problem, even if we use normal equipment he must be well equipped and funded to have been able to get into the building without us noticing anything, and the kind of weaponry he was carrying seems to be high caliber make."

Cobra Commander then spoke.

"This new threat will be dealt with in due time, but until something is done, all Cobra operations will be halted until we can get some decent security in our database! I want it done immediately and until we do have the system secured, I want everyone with brain cells still working to get to it!"

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Months passed in the world and it seemed to the Joes and Cobra that the mysterious group had gone underground for the time being. There were no attacks on their still existing bases for the terrorist group and it seemed that they were beginning to relax a bit as Cobra Commander was not in the mood to have his organization blindsided by yet another attack, he had ordered all bases of Cobra to send in reports every two weeks on their current status. This was an odd but respected move by the Commander in the eyes of the other members of the Cobra group with the exception of the group that seeks to have him removed from power.

The Baroness had sent all available Cobra agents out to gather any and all information their new foe and if possible locate his base of operations and capture him and anyone else who were on his side, however, Cortana had been very thorough in making sure that she left nothing for Cobra to trace, being a UNSC A.I and cloned from the brain and thought patterns of the UNSC's best scientist, Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, helped Cortana find ways to keep their operations a complete secret from the forces of Cobra. She would leave behind ghost programs that would direct the spy network of the terrorist organization in different directions to make them have even more difficulty in finding them.

Cobra was not the only organization was that trying to track down the Spartan however as the Joes were also doing their best through official and unofficial channels to tray and locate any clue on who the Master Chief really was, unaware of the fact that Cortana was also hacking their files with frightening ease, though in this case, her actions were not destructive and simply worked as a way to remove vital clues and tidbits that would work well together to paint even a faint picture on the exact location of the base that she and the Master Chief happened to be in as well as keep them hidden while making their new base of operations.

As time passed, both groups began to wonder just what had happened to the Spartan and the UNSC A.I and it was not long before they went back to their usual routines of finding out about each other's plots and doing missions to try and stop one another. The Joes managed to foil an assassination attempt on a wealthy and altruistic landowner in Spain who opposed the establishment of a hotel which was actually a front for a new Cobra base in the country. The Joes then uncovered another Cobra plot to steal several key oil reserves in the Middle East by covertly funding the actions of a band of rebel warlords who tried to take control of the government there.

Another Cobra plot that the Joes foiled also involved the theft of several containers of a highly advanced fuel mixture that would have been worth millions though the forces of Cobra did manage to get some of the data and some samples for their own work. These plots kept the two sides very busy as well as their attempts to expand their operations and influence, Cobra trying to topple new regimes and establish their footholds there, while the Joes would usually do their absolute best to keep that from happening while making sure to establish their own networks.

Times passed and it was nearly two years since the first pair of sightings were made of the Spartan, and it seemed to both factions that the mysterious forces that had attacked Cobra before for whatever reason had gone underground or had faded away, some of the Cobra High Command, including Cobra Commander believed that it showed that the new force was no longer a factor.

That was a mistake for both sides….John and Cortana had not been idle and they were soon to be ready to strike once more….

Cobra had no idea that their new foe was back, and this time, the Spartan had some brand new toys to play with.

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In the newly established naval base in the coast…

The Master Chief had to admit he felt a good deal of pride with the new addition to his arsenal in the new fortress that they were able to establish in relative secrecy in the same way they had been able to establish their main base itself as Cortana had been able to locate a very good location. The base was hosed in a mountain that had an open area to the sea and was well hidden. The base followed the same setup as the first base and was actually an old mountain cave system that was no longer explored by anyone and walled off due to the dangers in the caves, those posed no threat to the Spartan as he and the Robotic Rovers constructed the base itself.

It followed the same blueprint of the first base and naturally had a small but highly effective assembly yard, two armories that would stock the weapons and ammunition as well as many spare suits of UNSC Infantry Body Armor along with some spare components for the Master Chief's MJOLNIR Mark VI Powered Assault Armor that would come in handy if he needed spare parts, she also had some new components made and shipped some of those to the new addition to their arsenal to help give the Master Chief options in doing his missions. There was also a Hydrogen Reactor as well as a Fusion Core to provide power for the base with the Hydrogen reactor serving as the core power supply provider since it was connected to the ocean and had a backup connection to the rivers that flowed near the mountain. The new base naturally had a motor pool to store any vehicles that the Spartan brought in, a landing pad that served as the main landing point for the aircraft that the Master Chief would bring into play when needed, and had some defensive installations and security systems to keep it safe which mirrored the exact same defensive systems in the first base that the Spartan had. And naturally there was a kitchen facility with cold storage facilities to store food supplies and water and a mess hall, and a room for the Master Chief to rest and sleep in, this made the base very much a key part of the Master Chief's operations for what they needed to do.

Cortana had been able to contact some of the finest robotic assembly firms to give them all the machines needed, she also contacted many airplane scrap yards to send over good amounts of Titanium as well as some firms who owned mines that created Titanium to send over several key orders and then had them covertly shipped over to a nearby abandoned town and when those arrived, they were picked up by Cortana and John to be modified for their use. She also contacted several other companies to bring over chemicals and components to make more gun powder that would help them greatly, as well as several companies that dealt with food to supply the new base. She also managed to get her hands on prime computer parts that they could use for their base and the new ship. All of this was done with the money they had already on hand and the recent withdrawal that she had made on the company owned by the Crimson Twins covertly.

And she had managed to get some very promising information as well on the matter that she planned to share with the Master Chief soon enough as this would be able to get them back into the game, it had been nearly two years since they halted their attacks on Cobra, and now it seemed that Cobra had begun to get lax in thinking that they were not going to launch more attacks, but now the time had come to not only test their new weapons and vehicles, but to also remind Cobra that they were still around and more than willing and ready for the chance to attack them once more.

She also purchased a new ship hull and had it transferred to a dummy corporation name that would hide the movements of the group bringing the hull itself. Once the hull had arrived, she and John had it brought into the base to be built in a dry dock that they had in the base with the use of closing doors that cut away the water and allowed them build the ship in peace. It had taken them a good number of months in establishing their new base and making it tough and strong enough to take a good deal of abuse. The doors were made from specially rust and corrosion proof Titanium A alloy plating and Vanadium Steel and were actually colored to match the outer surface of the mountain and even had trees and plants growing them as well as specially installed panels that masked the metal plating's magnetic signature, making it harder to detect, there were even stones there that would further add weight to the disguise that it had on itself

Once the base's structure was done, the two went to work on making the ship itself, the Vanadium Steel frame served well as the reinforcement needed to strengthen the ship while they installed the remaining parts as well as the wiring and components, they also managed to create a suitable data core matrix for Cortana to use and this would be the key to allowing her to control the ship more effectively in battle.

It took another ten to eleven months for the ship to be finished as the Spartan had help from the Robotic Rovers and automated assembly systems that Cortana controlled as she had custom built the system from the ground up to serve the two of them well for what they needed to do in getting this new weapon into their hands. The time had also allowed him to have the new base fully ready for it's use as a part of their operational network for battles with Cobra as well as covert battles around the world. And when the ship was now finished, it was time to go to war once more for the Spartan and his long time partner.

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The Spartan looked the new ship once more from front to back and admired the handiwork that went into the assembly of this new ship as he and Cortana, who now resided in her usual place in his MJOLNIR Mark VI were looking at the ship which was now ready to be released from the docks and into the world.

The ship had followed the design of a basic cruise ship, but this ship was not build in the same function as it's civilian cousins as the Spartan and the UNSC A.I had other plans for it and it was not in the very same size and form as well as it was following the construction of UNSC Navy Vessels though in this case, the vessels in question were for planetary operations and to cut down in the material and expense cost, the two had made the ship to have a quarter of the length of the cruise ship hull. The originally high decks that would have all the rooms and leisure facilities were no longer present and there was only the section of the ship where the command center was so the rest of the ship was geared for a more military use.

The ship was lower in design and the back of the ship was a large hanger carrying two Pelicans as well as six Warthogs that both he and Cortana were able to construct in the past few months since they had cut their activity on attacking Cobra, two were the ones armed with the M41 LAAG, the other two were armed with the M68 Gauss cannons, and the last were the Troop Transport variant, these were able to be loaded onto the Pelicans and deployed on the land if needed, though Cortana had other plans that would be used at a much later date.

The hanger bay was hidden in the middle of the ship, right where the original leisure facilities and passenger rooms were, and was covered by parting doors that were designed to take a considerable deal of abuse due to being armored with Titanium A Armor plating. There were also four more aircraft that were being stored in the ship.

The first were a pair of Sparrowhawks or just the Hawks that were designed for heavy air to ground support warfare and were armed to the teeth and well armored. The Hawks had seen heavy action on Reach and Harvest but the problems with the dual fan system and high costs had kept the Hawk from seeing full time use in all corners of the war with the Covenant. The Hawk was armed with several high powered GUA-23/AW/Linkless Feed Auto-cannons and a nose mounted Weapon/Anti-Vehicle Model 6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle and was not to be underestimated in battle, it could also be used for covert armor elimination attacks when coordinated by spotters on the ground and in the air due to the range of the Spartan Laser

The next pair of aircraft were the UNSC Skyhawk Jump-Jet Fighters, these fighters were designed to engage aircraft in combat and was armed with four 50mm Auto-cannons and several Scorpion Anti-tank Missiles and it was also able to handle ground combat roles if needed, the Fighter was the product of years of research in fusing a fighter with supersonic flight abilities and VTOL abilities, making it a deadly unit in combat when called in to support or defend ground advances or engaging air forces in battle, though not as powerful as the Covenant Seraph or the Banshee, it was not to be trifled with when in the hands of an expert pilot..

The ship was sleek and smooth and had two to three meters of Titanium A armor plating and therefore could take some serious punishment though there were some thicker sections in key areas and also in the sides of the hanger area, that was also followed by several sections of photo-reactive panels which were the same as that of the photo-reactive panels that they used on the Pelican that they had used on the mission South America. The internals of the ship were large and was NOT in the same fashion of the civilian version though there were some rooms that were with a good deal of comfort and security, namely the room that was for John himself which was near the command area and was the Captain's quarters.

Though the Spartan didn't see the need for a lavish room since he was by heart a military man who fought in the front lines, he had to admit that it was bit more cozy, the room had a locker, bed, weapon rack, desk with a terminal as well as a Warthog chair to serve as his seat since it would be enough to support him even if he was wearing the MJOLNIR mark VI, and the holo-tank that allowed Cortana to wake him and contact him. There was also a bathroom and shower in the room with all the amenities for good comfort on the ship, plus a secondary room for cleaning his MJOLNIR Mark VI Armor.

He brought that up to Cortana that he was a Master Chief Petty Officer, not a Captain, Cortana smiled at that and replied that considering his track record and all the awards he had earned in fighting the Covenant for the past thirty years, he should be a Vice Admiral by now so she decided to give him the accommodations he deserved, knowing that arguing with Cortana was not going to get him anywhere, he decided to let it slide for now.

The ship was armored on both the outside and the inside and had several key weapon compartments on key locations of the ship which would allow it to defend itself if ever the ship's stealth mode was compromised. The stealth features were there due to the photo-reactive panels that were installed into the ship over the armor plating and these were updated by Cortana to be more effective and easier to maintain in the field.

The ship's weapons included several M68 Gauss Cannons in key areas on the front, sides and back of the ship, supported by some newly constructed Weapon/Anti-Vehicle Model 6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifles that were in banks of two which were in the same areas of the front, back, and sides, there were also several missiles launchers loaded with the newly built Anaconda Surface –to-Air Missiles to counter aircraft, and lastly for closer defense , the ship had several banks of AIE-486H Heavy Machine Guns as well as several banks of XM510 Multishot Grenade Launchers. The ship had also two deadly offensive weapons for attacking both ships and ground based targets.

These weapons were two LRG Rail Guns that were more than powerful enough to unleash a tremendous blast of firepower of large infantry concentrations, armored groups and structures. Though the UNSC normally used Coil guns in battle, the concept of rail guns were not abandoned and the LRG Rail guns were two rail guns fused into one system for heavy firepower, making it superior to the Scorpion tank's own turret weapons in terms of firing rate and penetration.

And the last were two 8 Mega Joule Rail gun, this weapon could unleash a high explosive 105mm shell at tremendous range, allowing the ship to serve as a powerful artillery platform, Cortana had improved the design to have high penetration power so it could easily kill multiple targets all at once. These cannons had seen action in battle and while not as mobile than some weapon systems in the UNSC and even Covenant arsenal, or as high tech as some of the weapons, it was a deadly weapon that could strike fear even in the normally confident and eager Covenant forces as these could easily slaughter their infantry if they were not careful. The UNSC A.I and the Spartan with the assistance of the Robotic Rovers had installed several stabilizing jets on the ship to stabilize it when the two 8 Mega Joule Cannons were in use. In this world, Rail guns were not yet in full military use due to size, power supply, and cost, but with Cortana's knowledge and the newly acquired materials and equipment working with their own, this made rail guns real.

These two pairs of super weapons were stored in the front and the back of the ship's deck, both hidden away and could be raised upward when needed in battle, making it resemble an old World War I era battleship, though this ship was far meaner and deadlier than those now obsolete ships.

The ship was also equipped with some of the finest sensors and technology that the two had been able to fit into the ship without weighing it down too much as they had reinforced the ship's super structure in key areas. The ship also carried a small number of F99 Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles or Wombats to provide close range unmanned ground support and also serve as recon agents and field spotters for Cortana with the ship's heavy artillery guns.

There were several storage rooms for supplies such as food, ammunition for the ship's weapon systems, these were naturally heavily armored and were protected by Cortana herself to prevent tampering. On the ship were three armories that had the full combat loads and were also well protected from entrance and a mess hall for the Chief to eat in with a full kitchen setup and freezer for food storage. The ship was able to have a highly advanced system for Cortana to use all the weapon systems, sensors and propulsion, and while the technology was somewhat crude, the modifications made by Cortana were more than adequate for her needs to control all aspects of the ship such as propulsion, power, sensors, communications and the like, these, plus the technology, supplies, and weaponry on the ship were more than enough in making this ship the most advanced warship of it's time.

Cortana also changed the propulsion system of the ship itself, instead of using a basic engine it used a powerful hydro jet propulsion drive that she had been able to gather from a series of science papers that she had been able to find in the internet and perfected in her free time to make it highly practical in field use. Cortana's modifications were more than enough to make the system extremely powerful in moving the ship to at least one hundred knots without taking too much space of the ship itself, in effect, the ship was equipped with a bank of three hydro jet intakes on either side and therefore there were six hydro jet exhaust areas on the back of the ship itself, there were also specialized filters to keep the intake systems clean and free of debris as well as some magnetic plate systems to take heavier metals away from damaging the filters. The hydro jet technology was also fine turned by Cortana to beat any form of sonar technology that was still in use, rendering the ship near invisible to submarines as well. (-)

To power the vessel, John and Cortana had used a few of the Fusion Cores they had as well as making three banks of Hydrogen Reactors to power the whole ship from top to bottom. The Hydrogen Reactors were fueled by intake systems that took in sea water and stored them in 5000 gallon tanks to fuel the ship. The fact that the ship had such super efficient power plants and fuel, this made it the most economically friendly ship in the world and thus could operate indefinitely like a nuclear powered aircraft carrier of this universe's timeline

As soon as he was done examining the ship, John smiled a bit and Cortana commented.

"You like it huh?"

"I guess, but has this ship been tested yet?"

"We're going to test it today, come onboard, let's get this ship on the go, and I've got some new things with which to use in the battle, might make things very interesting for us at this point and time."

John did so and as he got into the ship and made it to the main command center to see the ship' internal structure itself, the ship's corridors were the same as that of any UNSC ship and even had some Combat Barriers that would serve as defensive spots

As soon as they arrived into the command area the Spartan looked at all the equipment and systems there in the command center that replicated that of a cruise ship but it was more military and followed the same design of a UNSC ship, there were various terminals and a command system to move the ship, there was also a tactical map display before him with a Warthog chair serving as the Captain's chair. The windows of the ship were fashioned to be similar to the visors of the ODST helmets and the MJOLNIR Mark VI helmet, these were quickly polarized to be silver-grey in color to further hide the Chief from view on the off chance that the stealth systems were compromised, the glass was also treated by Cortana to have a diamond weave installed to add ballistic protection to the command center. In the middle was a large holo-tank which was the kind used to plan strategic maneuvers and attacks. As of this moment, the ship was not online and John then placed his hand on Cortana's nearby holo tank and in a few moments, the UNSC A.I activated the ship. In moments the lights came on and all the core systems were now online.

Cortana appeared and smiled as she began to run the ship's diagnostic programs and the tactical display began to show the ship's frame and the ship began to turn from red to yellow, and then to green, showing that the ship was now in full power and showing an all clear on all systems. John smiled at Cortana as she began to take the ship out. The base was then given the signal to initiate lock down once the ship was clear of the dock that was built in the base itself. Once the shop was in the clear, the base was on lock down and the core facilities in the base were shut down and the underwater barriers were raised upward to seal up the base and keep it in lockdown until the ship returned to port and Cortana sent the signal to deactivate the lockdown, in the command center, the Spartan II watched as Cortana activated the photo reactive panels and the ship finally vanished from sight.

The Spartan took off his helmet and replied.

"Not bad…so where to?"

"We need to drop by the African continent, I've recently gotten information on what appears to be a Cobra owned mining facility that is focusing on gathering gold and silver there. The place however cannot be assaulted since it's fairly close to several civilian settlements and Cobra's gotten legal protection there so attacking it would only make things worse, however, there's a convoy that is being scheduled to leave that said facility and head out to one of the Cobra Bank vaults, a small one to be sure, but worth raiding."

John thought about it and replied.

"So we're going to raid Cobra's money train then?"

Cortana grinned at that and replied.

"You got it Chief….and we're not only going to put a dent in Cobra's savings, but give the information to the Joes and let them deal with it in their own fashion, we're already going to have what we came for after all, so, fancy playing at being Robin Hood?"

The Spartan shook his head a bit at that and recalled the story, while the Spartan II Program's education was strictly on important lessons geared for their lives as super soldiers and commandos, they received some other form of education now and then that had some military applications. That included guerilla warfare and Robin Hood fit the bill due to his tactics and strategy.

He knew that robbing from Cobra was going to be seen as somewhat low, but it would help and the funding was gotten by terrorists after all, so no sense in not using the funds and treasures against their former users.

"Very much."

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It took some time for the Spartan and Cortana to arrive on site but now they were near the coast and as soon as the Chief was in the command center, Cortana brought things up to speed through the images of the tactical display.

"The convoy will soon be leaving the base and heading off to the vault to hide Cobra's ill gotten wealth so as it makes it's way there, it's fairly vulnerable to attack and can be easily taken out, but we need to be ready for a reprisal strike from Cobra when we hit the convoy, so far, they have some infantry forces as well as some light vehicles and heavy armor. I can coordinate an attack to take care of some of those vehicles and you can handle the rest from there."

John looked at the display and nodded as he began to assess the information and looked at Cortana, he then spoke to her.

"I got it, time for us to get going."

But as he was about to leave, Cortana spoke to him.

"Hold up Chief….I think that the time has come for you to consider….a change of outfit."

The Spartan stopped and looked at Cortana, normal people would have a great deal of difficulty on trying to figure out what was going on the Spartan's mind, but Cortana didn't have any difficulties on that matter as she spoke Spartan and understood it, after all, she had her maker's memories and Dr. Catherine had been there with the Spartans since Day 1 and she therefore knew what her maker knew of the Spartans.

She smiled and replied.

"Remember what I said about having some new options for you to try? These would really help keep your identity a secret so it would throw Cobra another problem to deal with once they do get an idea of what you look like."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I managed to make some extra spare parts for the MJOLNIR Mark VI, before we went to delta Halo….and more besides, I had been able to download a large number of new variant designs for the MJOLNIR Mark VI and despite some difficulty, I got some new ones to test for you….all of them are very much compatible with the MJOLNIR and you are really going to have some good use for those, both for the fact that they can offer better protection, hide your real appearance, and strike fear and uncertainty at the very same time. And considering where we are….this set should do just fine."

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An hour or so later…

The Master Chief came out of the room decked in some new armor and looked at the nearby mirror and couldn't help but be a bit more curious as to his new look, though he had to admit that it was somewhat intimidating.

The shoulder plates of the original MJOLNIR Mark VI were replaced by three overlapping titanium/ceramic alloy plates that resembled the Japanese armor set called the s'ode, the helmet now resembled a samurai helmet with seven angular spikes or spokes on the head area with them in one set and contoured backwards, the top rear guard protruded to reveal the spike, the ear guard formed something similar to a neck guard, and a face mask hid the lower half of his face and the polarized golden visor was made into two eye holes, these would further reduce the risk of the visor being hit for a fatal wound. The chest area also received another secondary defensive piece which resembles a neck guard, and another defensive piece that formed a delta on the chest area, this made for added hard protection.

And the last thing of all things was a sword, a Japanese katana at the length of three feet, the Master Chief had the sword magnetically strapped on his back and had a gray colored sheath, the hand guard was colored desert brown and the handle itself was covered in light desert colored thread to further hide it, Cortana appeared once more and then moved to be more human sized while admiring the armor with a grin as she spoke.

"Nice….very intimidating."

The Spartan shrugged and replied.

"If you say so…but what's with the sword?"

Cortana grinned at that and replied.

"The sword isn't for show, it's made from a high grade Titanium alloy and it's edge has been specially laser sharpened for it to possess a deadly cutting edge and I took it further by having it coated with a specially made heat resistant polymer to withstand heat and energy, it might not be able to cut through your MJOLNIR Mark VI, but it can damage your shields. I know the Plasma Sword would have been more effective to scare the life out of your enemies, but until I find ways to recharge those Covenant weapons the Arbiter was kind enough to leave us, then you're going to have to make due with this one."

"Okay….time to move."

Cortana nodded as she looked at the tactical display and spoke again.

"I'll have the Wombats fly out and do some recon while you close in with the Pelican, if you need fire support from the ship's main guns, give me a call."

The Spartan nodded and took a BR55HB SR Battle Rifle, and a pair of M6G Personal Defense Weapon System Magnum Sidearm, once he got a full combat load for both weapons, he grabbed a pair of M9 High-Explosive Dual Purpose Grenades, as well as several other grenades such as a pair of Sonic and Thermite Grenades. Once he was ready, he left the command center and headed off to the hanger bay, once he was in, he boarded the Pelican just as Cortana opened the doors above him, once the Pelican was airborne, he activated the now fully installed photo-reactive panels and the Pelican was now invisible and as he took off, the ship below him closed it's doors and was once more invisible and off he went to intercept the convoy just as a pair of Wombats took to the air and were now off to field spot for both Cortana and the Master Chief.

It was time to once more hit Cobra hard and fast. The convoy was going to be a very interesting target and Cortana was going to have some fun as she contacted the Joes, at the moment, there were several of them doing a routine security run in Egypt in one of their own bases so now was the right time to clue them in on the ongoing plan, of course, that was AFTER the Master Chief as struck pay dirt so to speak as the Spartan once more changed the color settings of his MJOLNIR Mark VI to match the color of the desert sands.

She planned to tell them the location of the vault so they could put a hurting on Cobra itself, though the UNSC A.I had a feeling that this mission was going to be interesting.

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In the convoy…

His eyes moved silently through the area, scanning the desert for hidden threats and then when he was done, one of the Cobra Troopers spoke to him.

"Sir?"

"Keep an eye out….something tells me that there will be danger coming here soon."

"From the Joes?'

"No…something else…elusive."

As he left, the trooper was greeted by another.

"Man…I hate it when he gets cryptic."

"Doesn't matter, he's usually right."

"Yeah…he is….but still, he gives me the creeps, I used to think ninjas were movie and comic book characters….but he takes the cake."

Storm Shadow naturally heard that, but ignored it, he had been assigned by Cobra Commander to handle this assignment for now, and while escorting a convoy was not in his interest, he did it anyway, though he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen soon, if not by the Joes…then maybe by this mysterious new force that came into play only two years ago. The ninja was eager to see just how skilled these warriors really were, though he doubted they could match either him or Snake-Eyes.

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To be continued…

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Author's Notes:

Well now….I guess you all can understand why this chapter it titled Boys and their Toys huh? Looks like Cortana and John had been busy in their off hours in keeping out of the hair of both Cobra and the Joes, but they were not idle, oh no. This new ship is based on a cruise ship but had been heavily modified to being similar to a battle cruiser by both John and Cortana. The reason this was built is obviously to serve as a mobile base and combat system for the two, and it is made using the materials and resources they have as well as that of Earth itself.

In hindsight, the universe of the Joes has plenty of materials and resources so it makes some sense that Cortana, in an effort to keep their supplies well stocked uses them instead to help even things out and I have to admit that what I did to the ship was rather different in most cases, but it would be worth it in the next chapter as the Master Chief and Cortana are about to go in and kick the holy hell out of Cobra once more.

And yes, the new armor components that are added into the MJOLNIR Mark VI are based on the Armor Permutation known as the HAYABUSA, only in this story it does have an effect for adding a bit more physical protection and instilling a more terrifying image before the Master Chief's enemies, and no, the Katana is NOT for show as Cortana has stated clearly when she presented it to the Master Chief.

And if you're going to ask where is the katana going to be used….then in this battle…John is going to square off with none other than Storm Shadow.

Spartan II Commando VS Ninja…

Need I say more?

I will leave this as the new chapter while I work on other matters, bye!

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(-): Based on the 'caterpillar drive' system used on the Red October. What can I say, I loved that book.


	6. Chapter 6

G.I Joe X Halo

Disclaimer: I don't own G.I Joe or Halo or any of the related media, so don't ask.

Chapter 5

Ninja VS Spartan

( ): Thoughts

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In the camouflaged Pelican…

The Master Chief maneuvered the Pelican as he came every closer to the route that the Cobra forces were going to be using for their convoy, it was there that Cortana contacted him on the COM system.

"John, I've got an idea."

"Go ahead."

"I'll rewire the speaker systems in the MJOLNIR's helmet so if you do decide to speak to someone, it will not be in your own voice."

The Spartan nodded and understood Cortana's caution and it was standard UNSC practice to have more than one language, though the UNSC forces spoke English as a medium, there were other languages used by the UNSC for their own needs, they used all languages and understood many of them. As Spartan II Commandos and part of the UNSC NAVYSPECWAR branch, he and his fellow Spartans were taught all languages of humanity to help them in their operations, and also to break the codes of Rebel groups who didn't speak the English language, this proved advantageous for the UNSC when the Covenant couldn't make sense of some of the other languages spoken by their forces.

This way, it would prove to be a good way to hide his true identity from anyone that would try to identify him. He then spoke to Cortana about what sort of language she had in mind.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well…seeing as how you resemble a futuristic samurai of Japan, I guess Japanese would be a viable solution, it'll help since you're in Africa and not many Africans speak the language. By the way John, I know you Spartans had formal martial arts training and CQC skills, but I have to ask, do you know how to use that sword in battle."

"I'm no expert, I can get by."

"All right then, I've picked up the convoy moving through the desert right now from one of the Wombats, and it's well guarded so attacking it head on might be a bad idea, I'm uploading the visual data to you right now."

The Spartan looked at the images and saw that the convoy was escorted by HISS Tanks, as well as HISS II Tanks, these vehicles served as the primary Main Battle Tank units of Cobra and were not to be taken lightly in any case, they were escorted by a number of smaller vehicles as well as a good number of Cobra Troopers, however, he then spotted a white wearing individual who was part of the convoy force and carried several old fashioned weapons and dressed like a ninja of sorts.

"Who's that?"

Cortana looked over the archives she had collected from both Cobra and G.I Joe, once she got the file she gave the information to the Master Chief.

"His name is Storm Shadow, apparently he is a high profile ninja warrior and serves as Cobra Commander's close bodyguard and seems to be quite skilled from what I can see in the files, he's no slouch in combat despite his gear so watch yourself John."

John nodded as he recalled two of his fellow Spartans who were masters of combat in close quarters, Li and Fred, the two were dangerous in their own rights as Li was by far the most skilled among them in zero gravity combat and martial arts, mastering a number of styles in his career, while Fred was a master of knife combat and was no slouch in battle with them, capable of killing several Elites with just a pair of Combat Knives alone.

He also received the same training though he was the most balanced of the group apart from Fred himself and as such, he knew better than to look down on foes that relied on close combat and weapons like this. Even though he was looking at a recording, he could already tell that Storm Shadow was going to be a tough foe despite not having the same kind of training he had or the enhancements or the MJOLNIR itself. Despite this, the Spartan was still focused on doing his mission and as such, placed such thoughts aside and landed the Pelican a safe distance from the route and quickly hid himself in the sand s and waited for the convoy to arrive on site.

As soon as he spotted them, he waited and then spoke to Cortana.

"Cortana, take out the lead vehicles at the front and then at the back, take out as many of the vehicles as you can without hitting the convoy trucks themselves."

Cortana nodded, she knew that John

"Got it John, get ready for the barrage."

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On the hidden ship, doors opened and out came the 8 Mega Joule Rail guns that were hidden in the ship, Cortana began to coordinate the weapon systems as the Wombats flew overhead at the good distance and guided her shots, the weapons roared out and the shells were sent screaming through the atmosphere and soon smashed HARD into the Cobra convoy. This naturally required her to deactivate the stealth mode of the ship in order to get a good strike at the enemy but with the distance afforded by the Rail Guns, it was not going to be too much of a problem for Cortana.

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Storm Shadow reflexively heard the shot due to his years of training and field experience and quickly shouted an order for the Cobra Troopers to get to cover, however three of them were not so lucky as they were quickly reduced into a misty spray of red and the HISS Tank that they were close to was devastated in a heartbeat and was reduced into s burning ruin. Another HISS Tank was literally blown aside, the side armor peeled off like an orange's skin and as it hit the ground, it exploded in a spray of fuel and metal.

The shock of the attack however was far from over as another HISS Tank was hit hard and also reduced to nothing but a burning ruin while a pair of Cobra Troopers who were trying to get cover were sent flying in another direction with parts of their bodies blown off by the sheer force of the explosion. The shelling didn't end there as several more booming rounds smashed hard into the convoy's lead tank elements and those were reduced into nothing but rubble as the sounds of explosions and flying metal was everywhere, this was quickly mixed with the cries of the dead and the dying as the Cobra Troopers were trying their best to determine just who was slaughtering them at this moment, Storm Shadow however was calm and tried to focus on keeping alive.

He knew that trying to seek out their attacker was foolish as they were being hit by artillery and unless they had some way of looking for them in the sky, they were unable to do anything right now, however, things were getting even worse when more of the shells kept raining down on them all, he then realized that whoever was attacking them was aiming for the lead elements of their forces, aiming for their armor escorts, showing that this foe was no fool and no doubt there would soon be an attack.

It was then that he heard something nearby and it sounded like….

Gunfire.

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"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"

The Cobra Trooper screamed out as he was gunned down by the Spartan, the Master Chief had been able to use Cortana's attack as cover to sneak to the other side of the battle field and make his way undetected to the eyes and ears of the Cobra forces and quickly eliminated several of the Cobra Troopers with his BB55 HB SR Battle Rifle and then moved through the rubble at high speed, most soldiers would have had some major difficulty being able to hit targets at speed, but not a Spartan as their reaction times were much greater than any regular soldier and the MJOLNIR Mark VI the Master Chief had on was more than able to increase those factors tenfold as the Spartan rushed through the carnage, using the shock of Cortana's unexpected assault to his advantage as he quickly attacked them with quick and fatal bursts of bullet fire.

The first batch that fell down to the ground were already dead from the hail of bullets that the Master Chief had fired and with the chaos going on, the Master Chief was quick to eliminate three more of them until the Cobra Troopers spotted him and quickly fired, the shock on their faces evident of the fact that they were not expecting this being before them, however, their weapons proved to be less effective with the shields of the MJOLNIR taking the hits with little to no damaging effect on the Spartan as he quickly fired several more times, hitting them dead in the forehead.

The Master Chief quickly got behind some cover and reloaded his weapon, removing the spent clip and reloading a fresh one into the Battle Rifle and then leaped through the flames of one ruined H.I.S.S Tank and his shields flared at the action, giving him a golden glow as he smashed right into a group of panicking Cobra Troopers who were quickly dispatched by the Spartan, one suffered a swift kick to the chest that broke his ribs quite easily while sending him flying into another of his companions while another got her neck broken by the Spartan with a powerful blow with the butt of the Battle Rifle and that sent her flying, another trooper tried to raise his rifle but was quickly taken out by the Spartan with a swift punch to the stomach that really made him fly backwards, smashing with a very disturbing sound.

Two more came at the Spartan but he quickly fired his rounds at the pair, killing them and quickly moving towards the driver of one of the convoy truck and shot the man dead center in the head as the Battle Rifle's rounds were more than powerful enough to slice through the 21st century glass without trouble, killing the driver. The Spartan was quick to be engaged by another group of Cobra Troopers, but the Spartan tossed a grenade at them and blew them up sky high as well as firing several more bursts into a few more of the Cobra Troopers.

However, the Spartan quickly blocked an incoming sword strike to his head with his Battle Rifle as he was now facing none other than Storm Shadow himself in battle.

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"What manner of being are you?!"

Storm Shadow had expected it to be a Joe or even Snake Eyes who led the attack though he had his doubts as the Joes were supposed to be on another mission, however had had not expected himself to be fighting someone like this before. The man resembled a machine of some sort, like the Battle Android Troopers of the B. as they were called, he had a marked dislike for them since he preferred to rely on well trained humans for support, not mindless and soulless machines who relied to much on outside control to function. He knew of their power of course, but in his mind the B. were too mechanical and didn't have the warrior spirit of the human being. This being on the other hand seemed to be utterly different, it moved too fluidly to be a machine and too precise and accurate to be human.

He put that aside for the moment as he was suddenly pushed back by the soldier and he quickly moved away as he was shot at by the Spartan with the still functional Battle Rifle and he was forced to break away quickly just as several surviving Cobra Troopers came into attack the unknown soldier and they fired their weapons in hopes of taking out the Spartan, but they were quickly shocked as the shields on his armor flared up once more and their attacks were rendered useless to say the very least as they were quickly gunned down, just as another band came right at the Spartan, forcing him to quickly seek cover as a volume of fire was unleashed at his direction by the newly arriving troopers as well as one of the said troopers was able to get a SAW into play and saturated the area with weapons fire.

The Spartan was pinned down but not for long as he quickly tossed a grenade into the group and forced them to break away while two of them were blown to sky high by the explosive, the one with the SAW swore and went all out in trying to take out the Spartan and that worked to a degree as one of his shots got lucky enough to strike the Spartan's hand, not enough to slice through the shields of course, but it managed to hit the Battle Rifle, causing it to be damaged and flown out of the hands of the Spartan but that was hardly enough to deter the Spartan from attacking the Troopers at full speed, discarding his damaged Battle Rifle, the Spartan quickly rushed in just as the Trooper stopped firing and quickly yanked the weapon out of the Trooper's hands with no effort and introduced a bone crushing head butt into the face of the Trooper, the man's skull shattered like a rotten melon and he fell down dead on the ground as the Spartan quickly killed the others with the weapon and ran it dry as he killed several more, he then reached for his damaged weapon and found it to be still functional though part of the casing had been torn off, making it's durability a bit questionable, he however had no time to do a more thorough analysis of his damaged weapon as he fired it at several more Cobra Troopers, and they dropped like bags of cement falling tom a high place as the weapon still worked fine. It was then that Storm Shadow struck once again as he took out one of his shuriken and fired it right at the Chief and the ninja wanted to end this threat quickly.

The shuriken came ever closer as it flew right towards the Spartan' aiming for the back of his neck, however, despite the smaller profile of the weapon, the Master Chief's honed reflexes and years of experience in battle quickly alert him to the flying weapon heading his way as he quickly turned around, dropping his Battle Rifle and quickly turning around at high speed as he grabbed the shuriken in mid flight with his left hand and then after turning fires it right back at the Cobra ninja.

Storm Shadow quickly flips backwards as the weapon flew right at him, as he flipped backward, he could see the weapon sailing over him as the weapon flew over his body in mind flip and then over his head, as he landed the ninja was quick to be supported by the Cobra Troopers who took advantage of this to try and overwhelm the Spartan in battle, but that was not going to be easy as the Spartan took out both his M6G Magnums and blasted at them for trying to blind side him while his shields flickered in their flashing golden hues at the weapon impacts.

Storm Shadow observed this and the ninja could see that this man, despite carrying guns was not someone to underestimate, even for someone like him and he quickly realized that his best chance for success was to disarm this behemoth of a being quickly and he wondered if that sword that he carried on his back was merely for intimidation purposes, he quickly fired several more shuriken and the Spartan quickly turned and with amazing dexterity and sight skills, SHOT three of the shuriken away and destroyed them while his shields blocked the rest, however, that was when Storm Shadow tossed another explosive right at the Chief, forcing the Chief to move away as the area he was in before was blasted.

He turned and that was when Storm Shadow took his katana and went in for close combat wanting to see just how effective that shield was and how good was the Spartan in battle, the Chief realized quickly that considering the ninja's distance from him, his Magnums might not be a wise idea and that was proven true when the ninja quickly attacked his weapons, forcing the Spartan to block his first attack with one of his Magnums, sparks flew from that contact and he was about to fire another round at point blank range when Storm Shadow took a kunai and aimed for the gun.

The Spartan quickly dropped both weapons and made a quick move of his own as he quickly moved away and slammed his hands towards Storm Shadow in an open palm strike, that blow would have shattered the bones of the ninja had he not quickly flipped over the Spartan, however, that was the opening the Spartan needed to take out his own sword.

The sounds of metal scrapping over metal was heard as the sword was taken out of the sheath and it was soon going to be a gruesome fight as the Spartan quickly turned and attacked Storm Shadow, forcing the ninja to block with his kunai, however, the strength of the Spartan plus the construction methods used by Cortana on the sword proved to be very effective as the kunai was cut cleanly in half, much to the ninja's surprise as he ducked at the last moment and the sword over his head as he quickly lashed out with a stab to the chest, aiming for the seams and hoping that he would be able to find a chink in the massive being's armor.

The attack glanced on the shields a bit and that gave the Spartan the chance to launch a knee strike aimed for Storm Shadow's head, which if it connected was more than enough to result in an instant crushing of the jaw and the skull, but Storm Shadow rolled out of the way and got up, but he was quickly greeted by a powerful slash that cuts into his arm, the only thing that prevents him from losing said arm was his honed training telling him to move away from the attack, the ninja winched in pain as he felt his blood flow down his arm in that moment as he quickly was engaged by the Spartan in battle, the wound was not too deep and was not fatal from what he was able to diagnose on the fly but he knew that favoring this arm might become something of a weakness that this armored being might very well exploit.

The two quickly traded sword blows and Storm Shadow found himself facing a whole new threat as this being was able to show amazing strength and speed, and it was something that he had not expected before but he was not going to back down either, he still needed to complete his own mission and it would be all for nothing if he were to die here at the hands of some unknown stranger who was dressed almost to resemble a samurai, he then tried to speak once more.

"Who are you?!"

That was when he got a response his native tongue….much to his surprise.

"You shouldn't be asking that question Storm Shadow."

"You know my name?!"

"That I do, but I am not here to play games."

The ninja glared behind his mask and replied as he attacked.

"Neither will I!!!"

The two attacked one another and that was when Storm Shadow began to use his years of training to his advantage as he quickly released a large amount of explosive pellets at the Spartan, they didn't have enough explosive power to deplete the shields as they went off all around the Spartan but they were able to weaken it enough that the ninja was able to attack quickly, and to his credit managed to land a small number of blows on the Spartan.

The Master Chief had to give this Storm Shadow credit for being this tricky, his trap had weakened the shields enough for him to attack with his katana and he didn't lower his speed of attacks either, the sword he carried must have been well made and sharpened as it made some gashes on his MJOLNIR Mark VI but he retaliated with a powerful slash that forced Strom Shadow back, but that was the opening he needed as he charged in and smashed his shoulder into Storm Shadow, making the ninja gasp at the impact, and then that was followed by a trio of slashes that cut into the ninja, one took him at the right thigh, the other at the left shoulder and the other on the right side of his chest right where the Cobra symbol was and that vanished as the cloth was soon covered in blood, apparently despite the Kevlar worn underneath by the ninja, this slashes of the Master Chief's katana were more than enough to bypass such defenses and that was why he was not bleeding from the unexpected attack from the Spartan. This was soon followed by Storm Shadow retaliating with attacks of his own, he heard a slight hum and when he struck, he realized that the shields this being had on was now fully charged and therefore his sword was not going to be able to cut as deeply as before. This made him frustrated and he attacked quickly to see if he could keep the Spartan off balance, however that train of thought and planning proved to be a lot harder to pull off as the Spartan was quick to recover and counter attack as well with blows of his own.

The two were fighting all out to try and take the other out and while Storm Shadow's training gave him a good chance to break even, he was no match for the Spartan's overall speed and reflexes though he was not giving up either despite getting several more wounds on his body courtesy of the Spartan while he was able to hit, he used the environment to his advantage and also used any and all weapons he could find in order to breach or weaken the Spartan's shields and when he was able to do so, he was able t damage the armor, however such actions were temporary at best as the shields were quick to recharge and the Spartan's counter attacks were more than enough to make the ninja all the more cautious in engaging the Spartan in combat.

--------

As both Storm Shadow and the Master Chief faced one another with blades in their hands, the two warriors were ready for another bout. The ninja's normally white uniform was torn and covered in patches of blood while the Spartan himself had several gashes on his MJOLNIR Mark VI as well as a set of slashes on the chest plate, however, the Spartan was not going to give up just yet as he held his katana at the ready while Storm Shadow held his own katana at the ready while they were surrounded by the ruins of the convoy's escort forces, as well as the bodies of the slain Cobra Troopers.

Both warriors were ready for a fight but Storm Shadow had never faced anyone this fast before, he had hoped that by using his newly restored sword he would have a much better chance in dealing with this foe but this was the first time he had fought anyone this skilled and deadly before. As a ninja, he had been trained to be able to tell the fighting level of his foe through observation, and from what he was able to see, this man was very dangerous, or if he even was a man.

The armored being moved to precise and quick to be a human, but it was too fluid and normal to be a machine, this made the ninja all the more curious as to who this mysterious attacker was as they suddenly charged at one another and their blades clashed hard into each other, for a brief moment, they were face to face and Storm Shadow tried his best to see even the eyes of this being through the visor that were shaped like eyes, seeing that he couldn't see through it, the ninja spoke to his foe.

"You….what are you?"

"Why are you asking?"

"You are neither machine nor man, what are you?"

The Spartan made no answer and soon pushed Storm Shadow back and attacked with a powerful slash of his sword that the ninja managed to evade as he then threw a kunai at the Spartan, the weapon was blocked by the Spartan's shielding and the ninja quickly removed a bolo from his pack and threw the weapon at the Spartan, the weapon quickly wrapped around the Spartan and stopped him briefly, allowing Storm Shadow some breathing room, however that was not going to last long as the Spartan easily broke free from the bolo and attacked the ninja before Storm Shadow could react, he was hit hard in the chest and sent flying back in pain as he felt that he had a broken rib.

John could see that the ninja was badly injured, but he had to give the man credit for standing up to him like this without flinching, normal men in the Insurrectionists back in his dimension would have either retreated, committed suicide or taken a highly illegal drug to stand up to the Spartan II and the rest of his group. This ninja was proving to be good challenge despite the fact that his attacks were not doing well against his MJOLNIR Mark VI Powered Assault Armor as they clashed once more and Storm Shadow was fighting even better than before, however his broken rib was weakening him in his ability to maintain a proper offensive.

He knew quickly that the convoy and it's cargo was lost and there was not much he could do against this being and decided to leave as he spoke.

"You have won this round….stranger, but I will not forget this battle, you and I will meet again soon."

With that the ninja moved to his belt and tossed out an explosive pellet and disappeared, unaware that the Spartan was able to track him, but the Spartan decided to ignore that as he recovered his discarded weapons after sheathing the sword behind him, as much as he was not an experienced sword user, this weapon would indeed come in handy soon since it didn't need to be recharged like the Energy Sword. He checked the still functional Battle Rifle and decided to have it fixed as soon as possible while picking up his Magnum.

One his weapons were back in hand, he went to work and checked the convoy trucks and found the crates filled with gold and silver ingots, more than enough to provide him with very ample supplies, he then determined just how many crates were there and did a mental calculation on how much time he would have before the Cobra forces would deploy reinforcements to the site of the battle. He began to gather the crates and called Cortana in to get the Pelicans in. There were plenty of crates and a quick analysis of the ingots confirmed them to be silver and gold.

--------

Cortana got the order and retracted the Rail Guns back into the ship with activating the photo-reactive panels to cloak the ship once more while deploying the other Pelicans via remote control, once they arrived on site, the Spartan quickly gathered the crates and loaded them up, but not before checking the crates for tracking devices and when he found them, he quickly destroyed them and then hauled the crates into the Pelicans, once they were clear, he quickly stripped the dead Cobra Troopers of any and all explosives and used them to eradicate any trace of his presence along with the fuel of the trucks. Once that was done, and he was assured by Cortana through the Wombats that he was in the clear, the Master Chief took off with the newly acquired wealth.

--------

On the ghost ship…

John sighed as he removed his helmet and checked the gashes on his MJOLNIR Mark VI armor as Cortana appeared on a holo tank nearby in the Captain's quarters. They had finished the storage of the gold and silver ingots and placed the damaged guns away for repairs back in their base and that was the good news, the UNSC AI then looked him over and smiled a bit.

"I have to give that Storm Shadow guy credit, to last that long against you speaks volumes."

The Spartan nodded at that and replied.

"He's good, I'll give him that much, so what now?"

Cortana thought it over and decided to try some ideas on John to see if he would agree to the whole thing that she had in mind, they needed to find a legitimate way to gain funding for their work, they couldn't keep on raiding either crime families and Cobra at the same time, it would only serve to draw more attention on them that was something that they didn't need and despite the fact that she could run rings around Cobra, the AI knew that it would be more effective for them if they were able to have legitimate cover.

"I'm thinking we use this money to generate more, we're going to need to establish a front of sorts to make sure that we get money through legitimate means in order to make sure that we don't draw too much attention to ourselves. This way, the funding can help us in maintaining our advantages without compromising secrecy."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I know that we need to keep advanced UNSC technology away from those who would abuse it, I hate think what would happen if they start misusing our technology and even more so of those of the Covenant we have onboard, but I believe we can use some of the technology we have for trading purposes, mostly medical and for self defense, we can use that to help establish ourselves here and ensure that we have a good cover."

The Spartan gave the AI a serious look and since she was quite familiar with Spartan Language, Cortana was well aware of the Master Chief didn't like the direction this conversation was taking. She however knew that logic was on her side, they could keep hidden for as long as possible and considering the finances they had, it would mean that they could operate very much in an independent setting. However they needed to have something of a public face as sooner or later, someone was going to place all the clues together at some point in time and they needed something to help them avoid further scrutiny.

That was when John spoke.

"All right, but we need to make sure it's technology that will within the guidelines of UNSC Law Cortana."

"I know and it will be a very good time for me to put what we have to use, besides, this Earth seems to have a fairly good source of materials and we can do some things that can be of use, I still have all the data pertaining to UNSC technology so we have a blue print to work with, we'll start small first and build from there."

"How small are we talking about?"

"The best way is for us to set up a company, a small one that will deal with the production of some products that can be used for general applications and build from there, I think we can use UNSC medical technology in this situation since medical technology here is not too backward and it might fit in easily enough. Plus the making of the medical drugs from the UNSC is easy enough that the technology here can handle it."

John thought it over carefully and decided that Cortana had a point in her plan and besides, this could also be useful for other things as well.

"All right then, let's do it. But I get the feeling that I need to become someone else when in public."

Cortana smiled at that as she already had plans in mind, she knew that they needed a location for them to start a company, she already had located a workable set of land there in the US that would serve well as a company area and as a front for their operations in the US, plus the job market data showed that there were quite a lot of people who were looking for work who could be hired in to do what they needed.

She filled the Spartan in on the details as they guided the ship which they named as the Shadow Eagle back to their base of operations in the coastline. They began to lay down the plans and information that would help them establish a public face in the world around them as well as locate viable individuals who would prove to be the kinds of people that they would need in order to be part of the public face they needed to have. It was going to be an expensive undertaking, but it was going to be a major boon to them as well, and if possible, they would even be able to expand their base of operations level soon while retaining the main base located in Alaska.

--------

Days later…

The real estate agent had to admit that this was by far the best sale that he had ever made, the land here was prime real estate and would a good place to set up a company facility as well as housing for employees, he had been assigned this lot in Montana and was not quite happy that it was not going to be sold due to the current lack of potential buyer, but that all changed no less than a week ago when a prospective buyer bought the lot for a very large sum of three hundred million dollars. He was stunned and checked the legitimacy of such a buy and found it to be very much a genuine legal purchase.

He had made the deal and soon met the man, he found the guy to be rather intimidating yet non threatening towards him in any fashion as he signed in for the completion of the paper work and had requested the establishment of houses, a mall, power distribution facility, mall and every thing else that would make a town. He had no idea how this guy had the funds for it but since it was for a legitimate purpose he made the contacts with the state and after a week of wrangling, his client, one John Terrance Mendez was given a state permit to own the land and set up the town though he was not allowed to be mayor, in fact the man refused and planned to have proper elections when the time came.

He sighed and smiled as he was happy for the massive pay day and hoped that his next client was a heavy tipper like that Mendez fellow.

--------

John watched as the trucks began to move in along with vans, construction crews and more as the place he had bought was soon going to be turned into a town, he had to admit that this was bit much, but it was certainly going to make things a lot more stable and secure when it came to having a base of operations, many of the people here were meticulously screened by Cortana to make sure that they didn't have any ties to criminal organizations and terror groups, Cobra being one of them. Once they were cleared, John gave them and their leaders the design plans for the facilities and housing, and when that was done, he and Cortana began to call in many people who had shown exceptional skills and expertise in the field medicine, research and more. They also contacted several companies to acquire the machines that they needed and have some custom made to exact specifications along with the materials and supplies that they would need.

He also requested a trust worthy Power Company to build a private power plant there in the new town to make it an independent location and requested that they would use solar and wind power, this was something that was a challenge to the engineers, but they were well paid and eager for the task. He could have used the design plans of a Hydrogen Reactor but that was off limits and not to be used just yet so he had to stick to alternate fuel sources for the time being.

The Spartan was not sure how to deal with this matter himself and so Cortana was his guide and soon they were getting the new company and town underway, he had requested that there would be fair elections for the position of mayor of the town as he concern was to run the company and not meddle into politics, however, he and Cortana also screened likely candidates for the position to make sure that they were viable candidates who were not the kind who would be easily swayed by money and promises of power, driven to do the right thing and also have a moral center, balanced by the need to take the right course of action if needed.

These were the kinds of people that John had respect for, such as his former commanding officer, Captain Jacob Keyes who's skill and dedication he admired from the get go when he worked with the man all the way to the death of the said Captain on the first Halo Ring that they found during the waning years of the UNSC-Covenant War. He found a few and hoped that they would be able to do all right. It was going to be a lot of work for him and Cortana, but it was going to be something that would help them a great deal, all they needed now was a name for the company that they were going to found, and already the Spartan had a very good idea on what that name would be.

He and Cortana also screened the people who they were going to hire as well as the people who would occupy the positions in the town as well as the company itself, they also decided to order things in bulk to further avoid trouble. It was going to take some time to organize and complete all this and this would allow John the time needed to socialize with people who were civilians, it was a tough decision, but the Spartan knew that such a choice of action would pay in dividends soon enough.

They also worked on him owning a private residence in the town area near a hill which would serve as the cover for a small but well furbished base, which was well secured and had ample security, and underneath the hill was a well stocked armory, communications and logistics center, a motor pool for the Warthogs that were to be used and a hidden route out of the area, on the surface it was simple yet classical for the Chief to play the part of a rich CEO while also having a special access shaft to the base itself. The place was not too bad and despite his slight disapproval was good enough for his needs, and besides, the base would help him keep in shape while the other two bass were on security lock down, being held in control by Cortana and the copies of herself that she had been able to make.

This was going to be a long year or so as Cortana would no doubt develop other ideas that would help them gain funds through legal channels, though what those plans were going to be was something that he was not all that aware of as of this time, he also made sure to make routine stops in what was termed as his vacation spot in the Alaskan area, and this required him to set up a large house near his base while he had to purchase the land for through government channels, it was a lot of work and was secretly connected to his main base of operations through a series of tunnels as well.

All in all, the Master Chief was now seriously expanding his muscles and he could bet that as of this time, Cobra was not in the best of moods.

--------

A year later…

Lifeline read the latest reports just as Duke, Flint, Lady Jaye, Scarlett, Leatherneck, Mutt and Junkyard arrived. The medic looked at the others and smiled in greeting as he was placing aside the newspaper.

"Hi guys. I'll be with you guys in a minute."

The medic was referring to the annual physical checkup that the members of the Joe Teams had to undertake, Doc was currently busy with other key matters, so he was the one handling that department. The others nodded and that was when Flint spotted the article that Lifeline was reading as the Medic checked up on Duke first.

Flint looked at the article and saw that it was highlighting the rise of a new company that was dealing with medical technology and he could see that Lifeline was very much marking down the information and he spoke to the medic.

"Hey Lifeline, you seem very interested in this company."

"Yes, Halsey Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Research Corp, it is relatively new in the medical industry, but they have already made some amazing leaps in medical science! Some of them are just amazing and is described as miraculous by the people who had tested the products!"

Flint nodded and looked at the article, namely the items Lifeline had marked and he commented on the very first item.

"Dermacortic Steroids?"

Lifeline nodded.

"That was the very first product that the company made, it's a special drug that has the ability to accelerate tissue growth with no side effects to handle severe burns and trauma to the body! It was even able t cure Third Degree Burns with amazing results, when it was tested, the results were amazing on one of the volunteer test subjects and in a few days through the treatment, the victim was fully healed and the person had few scarring on his body!"

Flint whistled a bit as he saw the implications of such a medical drug being used to treat such injuries, back then the only way to treat Third Degree burns was skin grafts, heavy treatment and months or even years of physical therapy. This drug nearly cut that in half and allowed people to make a full recovery in nearly half the time. He then spoke to Lifeline.

"So there's no side effects on the drug itself?"

"None that the scientists could see, the product's effects were permanent and the subject, one Matthew Roberts fully recovered, he had been so badly burned and injured that even the best surgeons were about to give up, according to the article until he was approached by the head of the company to test the drug under the watchful eye of the FDA, he agreed and to his amazement, he was back to working and he swears that their treatments are top notch."

Flint nodded as he let Lifeline move to give him his medical checkup, Lady Jaye then looked at the article and spotted yet another item that Lifeline had circled pertaining to the company.

"They also created some sort of Bone Knitting Polymer?"

"Yes, the item seems to be used to set broken bones once it's introduced through a cauterized incision and will begin to reset broken bone tissue. It's quite remarkable and like before, it also is able to set bones in the right place, coupled with the first product, the results were impressive. They even developed a substance that they dubbed as Polypsuedomorphine, similar to morphine but completely non addictive as a form of pain killer."

The Joes were aware of morphine's addictive effects and were surprised that there was a group able to make something that was quite similar to it without the non addictive effects as well. As Life-line finished the medical checkups on them they were then greeted by the arrival of Doc who smiled as he was currently brining them some good news.

"Well boys and girls, we're about to get ourselves a VIP so this will a good reason to crack out those suits and look good."

Lady Jaye smiled as Flint groaned, Flint had a slight dislike for wearing formal attire though he didn't bother with that when he was with her and she spoke for the others.

"What's the occasion?"

"You know the owner of Halsey Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Research Corp? Well, he's coming here to the Pit to formally sign a contract with the Joes, apparently he's something of a patriot and wishes to support us by providing us access to his company's medical products."

Lifeline was surprised and he couldn't help but smile at the senior medic.

"Are you sure Doc?"

"Positive, he had been invited by the brass back there in Washington and showed a great deal of interest in working with us when he was given a chance to speak to General Hawk, Hawk saw the results of his company's medical products and agreed to it and it seems that they've come to an agreement."

Duke thought that over and spoke.

"What do we know of this man?"

Doc punched in the picture of the owner of the company who was dressed in a business suit and looked every inch the business-man.

"His name is John Terrance Mendez, apparently has a PhD in Medicine and Biological Sciences, He apparently was taught in a private school in Richmond Virginia in his younger years and graduated with high Honors from the said school. He is the son of Clark Terrance Mendez and Alice Vera, Fairchild; both his parents were thought to have been killed in a car crash when he was still seven years old. He was adopted and when he graduated, he founded the company after his adopted mother, one Dr. Catherine Elise Halsey who had passed away due to lung cancer….apparently he cared for her very much and she with him since she wanted him to use some of her new medical discoveries and theories to help people, she gave him full access to her trust fund and that allowed her to found the company located in Montana."

The Joes studied the picture and Duke spoke to Doc.

"So have the spooks in Langley have anything on this guy?"

"None that bear mentioning, all the data checks out all right and there's nothing to show that he's not some pretender or a spy, he's as clean as one can get."

Flint nodded at that and replied.

"So when are we expecting our illustrious guest?"

"Three days from now."

--------

Three days later…

The Joes were currently decked in their usual uniforms and they were all very curious about the soon to come arrival of the guest that they were expecting, they normally would have preferred to be working but considering all that they had heard about this company it was certainly a good thing if they were able to secure the aid of this man named John Terrance Mendez and that was the sole reason that they were making these changes. They also had to admit that they were actually in the mood for a chance to take a much needed break from all the fighting and relax a bit, Cobra had very much taken their time and had not been making any activity for the time being and there seemed to be no activity from the mysterious group that had become something of a thorn in the side of the Cobra forces. They wondered just what had driven the mysterious group to suddenly go silent like before and what had they been doing since the last year. The Joes had to admit that they were still rather curious about what they should do if they ever encounter this group again. They however had heard reports of a massive attack on a Cobra convoy a year or so before and heard that some new force had attacked Cobra fast and hard.

However, they had not been able to get any more solid details on the attack as Cobra had put a lid on any and all information pertaining to the attack on the said convoy and that was something that surprised the Joes as they had expected Cobra to try something to track down the materials that had been stolen from them by this unknown force and they were naturally curious on finding out who this latest attacker was and if that person or persons were part of the same group that had attacked Cobra before. For now they were focused on the matter of this soon to arrive VIP.

Duke turned to General Hawk and spoke seriously to his commanding officer.

"Any idea on when he will be here?"

The leader of the Joe Team naturally replied.

"He will be here and is supposed to be riding a special vehicle that he had requested to be custom built to his desires, the guy has a lot of money Duke and he does have the right to be a bit late though I hope that he doesn't take too long."

That was when they were alerted to an approaching aircraft that was showing itself to be something that surprised the people there in the G.I Joe base.

It resembled an Osprey type helicopter but it was somewhat better designed with intake vents on the back and on top of the vehicle, it had a very different cockpit, almost the same as that of a gunship and it had a split tail in the back, it had the lines mostly seen in military helicopters and certainly was very interesting to look at, there were doors there and the vehicle was in a gun metal grey color scheme with blue lining in some areas with the symbol of a glowing sphere with the red cross behind it.

Leatherneck whistled at that as he looked at the landing vehicle.

"Damn….not a bad looking ride."

Ace nodded at that as well.

"Yeah, got to admit, this Mendez fellow knows his rides, must a be custom made vehicle from the looks of things. It looks like an Osprey though so he must have gotten the designs from that vehicle."

The vehicle was actually a UH-144 Falcon, this was a very economical transport used by the UNSC and could carry four passengers and support them with weapons fire from the side mounted guns of the crew onboard and a chin mounted chain gun controlled by the pilot, this vehicle was also used in all adverse weather conditions due to it's sturdy construction and it's armor plating which while less than the Pelican was still very durable and it had great. They had the plans to build one and contracted a very skilled company to make the machine while providing the parts and materials while ensuring that the company owners were paid well enough to keep them from making these for other groups while they held the main design plans.

However, this particular Falcon was changed by Cortana and John to be more civilian like without the weapons and the military color scheme, this was a far better choice for them to maintain their civilian identity than using the Pelican as the Falcon was similar to the Osprey helicopter while the Pelican had no counterpart in this reality. He had personally selected the pilot for this vehicle and the man, one James Dawson was a skilled pilot having served in the helicopter business for years before being forced to retire due to his work place being shut down.

The man was out of his luck as despite his impressive record, and his reputation as a good man as there were no new companies so when he took the job of being John's civilian pilot he jumped at it and found the job to be demanding which he liked and well paying at the very same time, something that he was grateful for.

As soon as the transport landed, the doors opened and a pair of men stepped out first and the were carrying M16A1s and wearing body armor with the same symbol and were no doubt members of the Company's security detail for their CEO, who then stepped out, wearing the usual attire for a CEO, a business suit with tie and pants as well as black shoes. The Joes noticed that and some of the female personnel were quickly curious and intrigued by the new comer.

The disguised Spartan disliked wearing what he labeled as a monkey suit but he knew that it was needed to maintain his cover and he was lucky that it was comfortable and fitting to his size and height, Cortana had a good laugh at his expense but she assured him that he looked fine in it and he took her word for it as well, and besides, it was the image of a CEO that he had to show before the Joes so he naturally had to look the part well enough to be a civilian, he also had to learn how to act as a civilian so he spent time studying the way good CEOs were supposed to act though he had a very good idea that if his fellow Spartans got to see him like this, they would have been amused.

He placed that aside and walked over to Hawk and Duke, recognizing them easily enough through the profiles he had on them thanks to Cortana.

General Hawk extended his hand to the man and spoke to him in a very courteous fashion.

"On behalf of G.I Joe, I bid you welcome into the Pit."

The man nodded and General Hawk was impressed by the grip the man had in his hand, it was strong, firm and steady, not the sort one associated with someone who was president of a small but highly successful company, and he respected that. As they finished the handshake, the 1st in command of the G.I Joes spoke to his assembled soldiers.

"This is the owner and founder of Halsey Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Research Corp, President John Terrance Mendez, he'll be touring the Pit to see if his company can be allowed to provide us with samples of their products."

The Joes looked at the man as he spoke, his tone was serious and yet relaxed.

"Most of my workers call me the Chief when I meet them, so it would be all right to me if you can call me that."

The Joes raised eye brows at that and it was then that one of the Joes walked forward, and it was none other than Cover Girl herself, she was dressed in her usual clothing and as she got closer she was able to get a good look at the President of the company, she had to admit that the guy was quite handsome, well cut brown hair and deep brown eyes, she was surprised that he was somewhat pale yet handsome at the very same time, his expression was calm and relaxed, yet non threatening as she reached out to shake his hand.

"Good day to you….Chief, I am Cover Girl."

"Cover Girl?"

General Hawk nodded and replied.

"I have to remind you that since the Joes are a special mission force, we do not reveal our members' true names President John, so I'm afraid that you'll only know her as Cover Girl, but she is a certified soldier and is quite a capable member of this force."

John nodded at that and replied.

"I apologize, I forgot about that fact concerning the Joe Team, I normally deal with civilian companies and people so I must confess that I know little about military rules and regulations."

The Joes laughed a bit at that, they were unaware of the fact that John Terrance Mendez or rather, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 was already aware of who they were, including Cover Girl, he had read their records and knew that Courtney A. Kreiger was a former fashion model from her hometown of Peoria, Illinois and had joined the Army to do something more fulfilling with her life as well as show that she was more than a pretty face, he had read her profile and agreed with that assessment as she was quite skilled in that regard. However he had managed to master hiding his knowledge both mentally and physically in order to avoid being detected and it seemed to be working well enough.

Cover Girl herself laughed a bit gently and had to admit that he was rather nice and from what she could see from his body language, he meant those words and that made her smile, though she couldn't help but feel something was off about this guy before her, and she had to give him serious credit, he had a heck of a grip for a civilian. As she moved ahead she spoke to John in a friendly fashion to make the man feel more comfortable with being in a military base, they rarely allowed civilians in the Pit and even their civilian contractors were given some much needed security.

"I'll be your guide in the Pit for today President John."

"Thank you, though you can just call me Chief as the others in my company call me, so that would be enough, I am not the President of the US after all."

The blonde nodded with a smile at that.

"You are right Chief, I guess you have a lot to see today."

--------

Later…

As John toured the compound he had to give the G.I Joe Team credit for some of their more innovative designs as while their laser weapons didn't have the raw killing power of some of the weapons he had personally seen used, the fact that they had gotten this far with their research into Directed Energy Weapons was proof that this world was on the way to being a major player. The UNSC had limited use of energy weapons technology, they had succeeded with lasers to some degree with the development of the Spartan Laser and the Rhino Tanks, but they have not reached the point were portable laser weapons were considered as feasible. While the Joes didn't have a large number of said weapons no doubt due to production costs, the weapons they did have were interesting to say the very least in the military mind of the Spartans, if laser weapons were made to be more portable mass production friendly in the UNSC, it would have given them a powerful edge in terms of infantry engagements once they were able to understand Covenant Shield systems which were naturally based on Forerunner technology. He had also noted some attempts to harness plasma based weapons technology but it was not fine tuned like those of the Covenant so they were still stumbling in the dark.

While they still used basic weapons technology, they did have some more exotic weapons and a part of Spartan trained instincts made him want to try some out, but in maintaining his civilian identity he had to avoid showing any unnecessary interest with their equipment. He did however show some level of appreciation when it concerned some of the vehicles there, playing the role of a civilian as best he could without compromising his true identity as a Spartan though this was much harder than he had expected due to the fact that he had little to no experience as a civilian due to his status and life as a Spartan.

All the while he had begun to observe the Joes, to get their demeanor and attitude as well as recognize the way the Joes run their operation, while they were professional enough, they also had a laid back attitude in their base and while such things were understandable, it was not all that possible considering the need for discipline on the military base. All the while he had been escorted by Courtney and she seemed to be quite skilled and intelligent for someone who used to be a model, he decided to test the water somewhat when they were currently at the motor pool overlooking some of the vehicles in the use of the Joes.

"Cover Girl."

"Yes?"

"Forgive me if I seem to be intruding, but I have seen your face before…."

Courtney sighed and replied.

"Let me guess…you saw my face in a modeling magazine am I right?"

"Yes, I can tell that this is a sore subject however so I apologize if I happen to be prying into something that is offensive to you."

Courtney smiled a bit at that and replied.

"You don't have to be so formal about that, I made peace with that part of my life, let's just say that I wanted to find another purpose in life so I decided to join the army and get into the use of maintaining and using armored vehicles and I happen to be quite a shooter myself, I still plan to prove I am not just some pretty face, though it's not been easy."

"I can see why. However, considering your standing in the Joes, you have made considerable progress in your plans to say the least, I have no doubt that you will have more success with that plan that you have in mind."

Courtney grinned at that and the tour continued until the Master Chief finally was guided to the main meeting room to discuss the final parts of the business deal with General Hawk and Duke and that was when Cover Girl was alone and was soon taking a break when Scarlett and Lady Jaye along with Jinx came to join her. The red haired Joe spoke to the blonde first as she was curious what she thought of John Mendez.

"So Courtney, what do you think of the guy?"

"He seems all right, and he's seemingly a very serious but patient guy, not to mention he's quite good looking."

Lady Jaye smirked a bit at that and teased her fellow Joe Team member.

"You sound like you're crushing on the guy, and you've only known him once."

"Hey, he's a good looking guy and he happens to be considerate, though I am a bit confused by something."

"What's that?"

"It's nothing bad, it's just that he moves like a soldier sometimes, I could be imagining it, and he certainly shows surprise when it counts, I guess my time as a model allows to me to see people in a different fashion at times, so I think he might be hiding something. However, I certainly don't think he's hostile to say the least. However….I have to admit that I have no trouble picturing him as a soldier, he's got a strong grip for one thing."

Jinx grinned a bit at that and replied.

"Easy girl, I think that you need to slow down first before anything else, so what else did you find out about our guest?"

"Not much, but all in all, he's fairly all right."

It was then that Sgt. Slaughter himself appeared, the rough and tumble drill instructor of the Joes had just arrived from another tour with one of the US Army bases looking for new recruits but didn't have much luck so far and he was eager to find some time off to relax, though his way of relaxing wasn't exactly pleasing to some of the Joes though none of them had any desire to point that detail out to the muscle bound sergeant.

Lady Jaye, Cover Girl, Scarlett, and Jinx smiled at Sgt. Slaughter and the massive soldier spoke.

"Hey there ladies, what's the discussion about?"

Scarlett told the Sergeant about the new partner of the Joes and when they were done, the Sergeant was rather curious to meet this John Mendez character, and sure enough, the Master Chief finally arrived from the room with both Hawk and Duke with him, both Joes happy with the news, apparently they had been able to come to a very workable agreement. The very second the sergeant saw the Spartan II he was intrigued. The toughest and strongest of the Joes knew a soldier when he saw one and could tell that despite his business attire, this guy was no civilian, the way he moved spoke of power and discipline, as well as some other traits that made the tough drill instructor hatch up a plan.

"Excuse me."

The ladies watched as the drill instructor walked over to the group and saluted Hawk and began to speak, this was enough to get the ladies to walk over to see just what was the sergeant planning and they got their answer then Sgt. Slaughter offered his hand in a handshake to the Spartan, the Master Chief did so and both men shook hands were in firm grips and the Sergeant spoke.

"You've got a strong grip for a civilian business owner Mr. Mendez."

"Thanks, I….work out a lot."

Sgt. Slaughter smiled a bit and laughed at that.

"I'll bet you do, if you ever get tired of running through paper work, give me a call, I might decide to put you in the Joe Team, you've got potential."

The man smiled a bit and replied.

"I'll think it through."

As John, Duke and Hawk left the area, the girls walked over to the drill sergeant and Scarlett spoke.

"I hope you didn't break his hand, I'd hate to think that his hand broken."

Sgt Slaughter however shook his head at that and replied.

"I doubt he has to worry about it, and besides, he just proved to me that he can be a soldier, he's got the grip and strength of a soldier, not to mention he didn't even flinch when I used my full strength, he's got guts and strength, and I like that in a man who can be a soldier."

The women looked at the drill instructor and noted that the drill instructor was moving his hand a bit, this told them that there might be some truth in what Sgt. Slaughter had said to them before as he smiled a bit and that made them curious about this John Mendez, with one certain blonde being a lot more curious than others, though she naturally had her doubts in her ever seeing him again as she had her duties in the Joe team and he had his duties in running his company.

--------

To be continued…

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Author's Notes:

That wraps up this one, and I hope that this will be the kind of story that will make people happy for the duration in waiting for the next update, sorry if the quality kind of sucks in some way since I had to clean out the cobwebs in my brain for this story since I had planned to update this when I had the time but this was when my PC went on the fritz.

Anyway, I hope that the battle between Storm Shadow and the Master Chief was worth the effort to read and would be more than enough to warrant a rematch between the Spartan and the Ninja, and if not, then please send your suggestions my way so I can study them and see if your suggestions can be used in making the story a lot more effective in the long run. As for today I will be taking a break and getting ready for a special seminar in the coming days so I might not be able to update anything for a while.

I took the advice of one of my readers and have the Master Chief and Cortana have a civilian façade to hide themselves a bit more and allow them to have a safe house while operating in the US as well as covertly helping the Joes in the medical sense, it's a bit over the wall in some ways, but it was the only thing that I could think up with whatever time I had left in my hands and I did my best to work out the kinks before I go on the seminar.

If there is any loop hoes I would really appreciate it if they are pointed out to me in a very civil manner and not in a flame since I am not in the mood for such foolishness.

At any rate, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to get back to work as soon as possible when I can.


	7. Chapter 7

G. I Joe Halo

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to G.I Joe or Halo so let's leave it at that.

Chapter 6

Arctic Warfare

( ): Thoughts

……..

In the Alaskan wilderness…

The Master Chief was patiently looking through the scope of his newly purchased hunting rifle as he looked at the large deer he was hunting, the Spartan took his time as he looked through the scope and waited for the deer to let down his guard. As soon as he got the all clear, he calmly pulled the trigger…

BOOM!!!

The crack of the rifle reverberated in the forest as the Spartan hit the creature dead center, he quickly went there and got to work taking the creature for storage as he went to cutting up the creature and taking the portions he needed for cooking and would have the rest stored away for later. The Spartan had bought the rifle and the ammunition and had gone hunting, and have some alone time for himself.

Of course, Cortana could easily call him if needed and he would be quick top make it there as he had his Warthog in the area. For now he was going to have to get used to having a civilian identity for the duration of his stay here in this Earth, thankfully Cortana had been able to make him able to operate in his main base which had a cover of a house being built there and he would be able to leave behind people who would serve as the operators of the business that he and Cortana had founded, with him having full control of the company in every legal sense while he worked on other matters.

For now, he had some alone time and got the food cooking and began to eat. This gave him time to pause and think of other things apart from keeping a civilian identity. He had never thought that the day would come that he would have to be a civilian, but this was a very unique set of circumstances that he and Cortana were in and they had to adapt and he was now going to have to live with the fact that he was going to have to age like a regular person.

The reason for this mode of thinking was that due to the fact that he had spent most of the near thirty years fighting the Covenant in cryo-stasis on ships and was only out when the fighting broke out. Thus while he was already at the range of his fifties ever since he and Cortana landed on this alternate dimension, he was biologically in his mid or late twenties. He had been used to a military life and it was going to be a serious amount of work for him to play the role of a civilian since he had little to no experience being a civilian. However, he had faith and trust in Cortana's abilities and thinking as well as his own, besides, it was not like he was at a complete lose on how to act as a civilian as there had been some training on how to pose as a civilian in his education though it had not been as intense.

He and the other Spartans got this training before in order to get past enemy lines when it was needed for them to be stealthy, after all they were trained to fight terrorists and when stealth was needed, they were able to do so, though he always believed that Fred was the better one when it came to blending in with the population more than the others. As he enjoyed the solace, he spent the time to think about the past a bit more as having this kind of solace was considered very rare by Spartans like him.

He missed the old days with the other Spartans and that got him to wonder about how things were back in the UNSC. Had the war truly ended for Humanity, and even the Separatists? Had the Loyalists been truly beaten? Has the Flood finally been wiped out? All these questions flew through the mind of the Spartan as he ate his food while looking at the camp fire. He had to admit that these questions had been in his mind ever since he had been sent to this world. He wondered if there was any way that he would be able to return to his world.

But he then wondered what he would do when they got back to the UNSC, there was no telling how long he had been gone and there was a chance that he was forgotten. He sighed a bit and decided that such thinking was not going to be of much help to him and as such, there was no need for him to be thinking such things. As he finished his food, he cleaned up the campsite with military precision, once he was done with cleaning up the location, he packed up his things and got onboard the Warthog and activated the engine, he then moved out of the forest and headed back to his base and as he moved through the location. The Spartan began to think on how he and Cortana will be able to live in this world on the off chance that they might not find a way back home..

……..

In the base itself…

Cortana smiled as she appeared from a nearby holo-tank as John parked the Warthog in the motor pool and spoke to her long time protector.

"How was the solo hunt?"

John shrugged at that and replied.

"Pretty good, had some time to think for myself, time like that for me is pretty rare."

The A.I smiled at that as she knew that some alone time would give John some good and she was also naturally rather curious on what was it that John was able to spend time thinking about.

"What was on your mind?"

"Home."

"I see…."

"Cortana, do you think we can go back soon to our reality? There's not much we can do here but leave behind information and data that could be used to help this reality grow on it's own, it might not be following the steps that created our own world but still, I don't quite feel comfortable with the idea of meddling with this world."

The A.I nodded at that as she understood the logic in the mind of the Spartan, they were already affecting this world on their own by their appearance and the technology that they had already shared with the public namely in the medical technology department, but they were here and until they were able to find a way to return to their own world and dimension, they were going to have to make due.

"I know what you mean John, but these are circumstances that neither of us have much choice in for now, besides, it could have been worse."

"How worse?"

"How about going back to the Dark Ages for one thing? At least we're here in a world where there is a chance that we can develop enough technology to go home with. I know that's taking the sunny side, but it's better than being melancholic about the whole mess. I had enough of that when the Gravemind had me in it's vile clutches."

John saw Cortana's avatar shiver in pain as she flickered, no doubt recalling the torture that she had endured in the hands or tentacles of that monster and made him feel anger, not an unknown emotion for him, but he quickly placed that aside as he spoke to Cortana.

"Sorry about that, I guess I am being too much of a pessimist."

Cortana smiled once more and replied to that.

"You are, but at least you can be rather nice when you want to be, anyway, I think it's time you get back to playing the rich CEO, your time for a vacation is over anyway, back to working in the salt mines."

John snorted at that and replied.

"You what's the worst enemy I met ever since we came here that makes even the Flood look like a bunch of green horn cadets on parade detail?"

"Color me intrigued John, what is this new enemy?"

"Paper-work…I'd rather be in the front lines fighting the enemy, now I'm having to deal with documents and the like….I'm amazed that anyone even manages to go through the day doing this without wanting to lose their minds to the whole mess."

Cortana laughed at that, she was starting to like this part of John, he was still a military professional and still able to me as hardnosed and disciplined like the rest of the Marine Corps, but this side of him was nice to see. She knew that it was only when he was with her that he was like this and that made her feel good. As long as they were able to support one another in this new world, they were going to do all right.

John then spoke once more while placing aside the civilian rifle and then getting dressed in his usual choice of clothing while working inside the base.

"By the way, if we do not happen to find a way back home, then what do we do?"

Cortana then replied with a look of someone deep in thought.

"I honestly don't know….but I do know that as long as we're here, we might as well do what we can in order to help who we can while making sure we are never found out. It's not going to be easy, but at least we have the chance to go and do some much needed good in this world even if we don't have to do too much either."

John nodded at the truth in that and decided to focus on what they could do and focus on what they could not do at a later time, the only way they could return home was by making modifications to the Shaw-Fujikawa Trans-light Engine to replicate the same event that brought them to this world. However, in order for that to even be possible, they needed a ship and it had to be a ship that was able to withstand the demands of the system, and the Spartan knew the dangers of the Engine due to his education on the physics of his dimension and having read technical reports on the Slipspace Drive itself.

UNSC built Slipspace Drives were notoriously difficult to repair and maintain once they were online and were used for the first time. And they were very dangerous when not properly repaired, he had heard stories of technicians being literally blown apart in the molecular level.

He needed a ship that was up to the UNSC standard and the ships that were used in this reality certainly didn't have what he needed, not only that, the ship had to be built according to UNSC Navy code and even Cortana would have to be extra careful in using the systems. What made this even more difficult was the fact that they only had ONE such engine and therefore they could ill afford to lose it. They had to help accelerate the technology and science of this world enough to finally develop the technology and theories enough to develop a substitute Trans-light Slipspace Engine.

This however a dangerous idea to say the very least, anyone who got their hands on the designs and figured out the purpose of the engine would use it for very dangerous ends, even if only a small portion of the technology that went into the creation of the first Trans-light Engine was lost, then it was a serious blow to them. And who knew what the people in this reality would do if they got their hands on the schematics and the data concerning the device? If Cobra got their hands on it, he had no doubt they would use it for nefarious ends, and he certainly couldn't trust the Joes just yet with such sensitive technology or anyone else for that matter. This world was NOT ready for such technology or for such science.

John sighed once more and decided that not was not the right time to be brooding over such matters until the time came that he had to do so. For now he had other concerns that had to be addressed in his company while he made sure to keep an eye on both Cobra and the Joes. The terms of his agreement with the Joes were that he provided them with supplies of medical items and gear as well as support if needed. They had made it clear that his meeting was to be kept as absolutely confidential material and as such it would make it less likely that Cobra would develop an interest in him.

He however had been busy getting ready for anything that Cobra might throw in his direction, though he needed to make sure that he was not going to raise too much suspicions, that was why he had to regulate his finances more effectively and pay them accordingly with the changing economic situation of the country he was in while keeping his funds broken apart into separate accounts that would make it harder for the people to keep track of his finances as well as keeping a significant portion of his funds hidden away in his bases in order to have funds and cash on hand.

He also had to deal with other issues in helping the town he had help found run effectively, he had requested the town to be named Reach and it was accepted so when he did visit the town once in a while, he would be able to blend in well enough. He would always talk to the mayor and check out how the people were feeling and how they were dealing with living in their new home. The more the people were satisfied with living in Reach, the less likely he would be easily found out by those who would get curious.

He also offered jobs to those who needed them including the hiring of a small security detail for the company along with hiring regular security personnel in the company's building and factory. Most of the people were military personnel and he even hired retired officers to serve as teachers for the small but well trained security detail for the company itself.

These men and women were to be given good wages and be allowed to live in the town with their families if they had any to take care of, and were given counseling by the doctors there who had moved in after hearing about Reach, like the others, they were all screened by John and Cortana to see if they were trust worthy and when they were, they were given good places to live and then were left to handle things on their own.

So far, the Town of Reach, Montana was flourishing and growing well, this was good news for Cortana and John so they now focused on other maters that pertained to the company itself.

……..

As time passed, the company they founded began to expand it's arsenals in term of medical technology, they had begun to increase their research in the improvement of regenerative medicine as well as improving the safety level of new medical equipment. Their research was supported with the data that Cortana had on UNSC medical technology and medicine, which led to the development of it's new program which was the research into creating transplant organs from the DNA of the persons in question.

This was something that proved to be a highly unique and unknown science and it amazed the people that the process of using the DNA of people to create organs that would be used for surgery. This had brought the company some considerable attention, both positive and negative from people who were curious if this was actually a possible answer to the need for organ transplants for patients who had suffered from accidents or diseases.

This was actually based on the UNSC science of Flash Cloning; Flash Cloning was developed by the UNSC for cloning organs from the DNA of people. The fact that the organs were a one hundred percent genetic match ensured that they were compatible with the person, and was based on the science of using stem cells taken from the persons in need of to serve as the formation of custom engineered cells and even organs. This was used in the reality of Cortana and John, eventually developing into the science of Flash Cloning which was a medical miracle in all respects since this ensured that humans in the UNSC could live up to a century and a half.

The process seemed to be considered uncharted territory in this reality and had been considered as a dead end by most scientists in this dimension, but Cortana and John had hired people who believed in such technology and theories of the use of stem cells and gave them the funding and space to begin their tests.

The scientists were indeed using their own theories, unaware that their theories were the keys to the formation of Flash Cloning and would prove to be a serious benefit for the medical field. There had been people against it in the past, but the benefits outweighed the dangers people would place on it.

Already there had been increasing interest in the company's progress in such a field and while most people would have raised concerns on it's ethical implications, John had sent a report that his company would follow through ethical guidelines and would not make any attempts to clone living humans nor use humans as test subjects. He had made it clear that only willing people who would be screened by his company's trained experts can receive the treatment and they would be properly reimbursed if the process didn't work but until they were able to answer to the existing questions on the process, they would not start on it just yet.

However, in the background, Cortana had already begun to work on something that would be key for the time when they were soon going to be fighting alongside the Joes once more against Cobra. She had a plan in mind that was going to require something from John and since they were taking the use of the technology of the UNSC in Cloning, she needed his DNA, this and the schematics of the BATs she had on hand had given her a very interesting idea that she knew would give them the needed edge when the time came.

……..

In the base several months later…

The alarm filled the base, starting John a bit until he was on full professional mode and headed off to the main command area and as soon as he arrived, he spoke to Cortana.

"What's the situation?"

Cortana smiled and replied.

"You can wager a guess."

"Cobra's up to something again?"

The A.I nodded at that.

"Yes, and this time it's a very serious one. But you're not going to go on this mission alone, I think that now is the right time to bring out the new weapons we've got on storage. You're going to Russia for this mission John and so are the Joes, be on the lookout of the October Guard."

"Who?"

"They are called the Russians' answer to the Joes themselves, but they comprise of soldiers from the Warsaw Pact countries and serve to protect the interests of the Russians and their allies in Europe both in and out. Apparently the Russian and US ambassador are having a shouting match and had only come up on an agreement of having a joint task force to deal with the problem."

John nodded as he began to suit up and as soon as he was wearing his MJOLNIR Mark VI Powered Assault Armor, he placed on his helmet and headed to grab some needed gear for the mission and as soon as he got ready, he looked to see just what were the weapons that Cortana had in mind. As soon as he looked at them he gave the A.I a look and spoke.

"You've got to be joking."

"No I'm not, these units might not have been given a full test run, but now seems to be a trial by fire for them."

John sighed a bit as he placed on his helmet, hearing the seals lock up and he was ready for war and it seemed that his new allies were going to be ready for war as well. They all moved out from the main base and headed off to the Naval base while he had Cortana handle the incoming calls from the company managers and officers.

……..

Later…

John looked over the tactical data on the current attack of the Cobra Forces on what appeared to be some sort of nuclear waste disposal site in Russia, normally this was the territory of the October Guard, the Russian version of the G.I Joes. But considering that Cobra threatened to unleash the nuclear waste into the whole Pacific Basin as well unless they were given nearly forty percent of the control of the trading lanes in the Pacific made it an international concern which was why the Joes were being sent there to handle the mess alongside the October Guard.

However, Cortana had been able to crack some of the moving data streams from Cobra Command and their forces in the field and determined that Cobra intended to detonate the facility to really make things even worse as well as unleash what appeared to be high grade nuclear warheads towards the US in hopes of making it appear like an attack by Russia and that would spark one serious threat to the US and Russia as well as eliminate a large portion of the Joes and the October Guard in an ambush.

Adding the possibility of one heck of an international shooting match to the massive environmental disaster that the nuclear waste release would spark as well as the countless deaths that could come of it to marine plant and animal life as well as human lives made this a high priority mission which was why they were going there to back up the Joes via Pelican Drop ship.

The cloaked Pelican was currently on the way to Russia after leaving the cloaked ship that was currently near the Russian coastline at the Pacific side, stealth was key and therefore this was the best way to get the job done and as soon as the Pelican landed, the Spartan and his support team were now on the ground. The Master Chief quickly changed the color scheme of the MJOLNIR Mark VI to a deep white in order to blend in more effectively with environment and switching the polarized golden color to a pure silver one, Once that was done, he quickly made hand signals to the converted BATs to move out in formation.

The eleven unit team of BATs nodded in response to the hand signals and took out their weapons, which comprised of MA5C ICWS Assault Rifles, BR55 HB SR Battle Rifles with silencers, M6G Magnums, and M7S Caseless SMGs, with one carrying a Spartan Laser along with a BR55 HB SR Battle Rifle and the other armed with a M247 SAW, all of which were colored white to match the environment. Their own installed Marine Body Armor was also colored white and so were the uniforms that they had on them, further making it harder to detect them. They also carried packs on their backs that stored ammunition and supplies though water food, and medical equipment was not included due to their robotic nature. They were also given increased durability due to their armor being reinforced with Titanium A alloy plating that would further give them the combat advantage. Their faces were covered in the lower portion by white cloth masks and deep silver visors that were integrated into the helmets that they were wearing on their heads to further hide their identity.

However, these BATs were different from the ones that Cobra owned, despite the sheer amount of resources that went into making them, both he and Cortana expressed disbelief that the Cobra forces treated BATs like cannon fodder. In the UNSC such machines could have been used for very dangerous missions and would have been vital alongside the ODSTs and the Spartans in turning the tide of war. The fact that the BATs even existed was something of a marvel to his AI friend and confidant as the UNSC had never been able to reach this level of technological skill with robotics before as they relied on robots only for manufacturing purposes. The way Cobra used the BATs was a serious waste and as soon as they got access to the plans, Cortana was quick to begin building a handful of the robots.

However, she was making sure that these BATs underwent a number of very useful upgrades as well as a special set of systems that would turn them from cannon fodder to more effective combat units that would be able to support John in the field and to make sure that the forces of G.I Joe and Cobra were going to be in for a surprise.

The handful of BATs that were created underwent a massive overhaul in their functions as well as their mobility, instead of just being used as expendable troopers, these robotic soldiers were made to move and fight in the same fashion as human soldiers did and were even installed combat programs that were bused on UNSC Marine Corps combat doctrines. This made the BATs move and fight like regular UNSC Marines. They were also custom built and had none of the devices and systems that Cobra usually used in making their BATs and thus these custom built units could not be hacked by Cobra.

Cortana's plans in flash cloning John's brain proved to be very effective as fifty brains that were flash cloned were then subjected to the process used by the UNSC to create , both Smart and Dumb. The results were the formation of at least twelve A.I copies of John himself, though these were all Dumb A.I versions.

The Dumb A.I programs were then stored in chips that were the same as the one that housed Cortana though they were merely crude duplicates, and were then programmed into the BATs to serve as the main A.I programs that would drive them into battle. Since the BATs were able to operate as humans due to Cortana improving their functions, they were able to move and fight like the Master Chief himself and they were programmed to recognize John as their commander and to follow his orders to the letter.

The fact that they had all of his traits logged into their core functions made them literal extensions of the Spartan himself and were armed with his own level of battle expertise and experience, this made them very deadly. They were also programmed to receive combat orders from John who had numbered them accordingly and when he gave the orders, that was quickly executed by them.

And since they were Dumb they were unable to suffer the dangers of Rampancy, something that Cortana had already conquered before they landed on the surface of this world. They were also unable to learn beyond their programming which further limited the dangers they would pose as they couldn't learn anything beyond what had been programmed into them. Thus they were designed and programmed as highly trained shock troopers and support members for the Spartan, in fact, by most if not all definitions, they WERE Spartans…only they were complete machines, loyal to their commander and in this case….their father.

That was why Cortana jokingly called them the Spartan Company and even placed that same name on the BATs Armor in golden letters as well.

John thought that this was a little bit overkill and he did show some level of discomfort with working with the BATs but he didn't fault Cortana's logic in making them as despite him being more than able to do this mission well on his own, the fact that the October Guard, G.I Joe, and Cobra were on the scene meant that sooner or later, he was going to have to reveal himself.

And there was a good chance that things might get really bad so he needed support and to further confuse the Joes and Cobra as well. The two sides would become very curious who they were and their supposed group only sends one person at a time, in this fashion, they gave an illusion to the Joes and Cobra that this was not a two person outfit. Plus it would also hide the fact that the Master Chief was the only human there and the rest were robots, albeit heavily reprogrammed and upgraded ones.

The creation of the Dumb also helped him and Cortana manage the company while he was in the base as she would be able to use the A.I copy of him to answer all the incoming calls from the company officers and managers while he was out through video phone.

The UNSC A.I was so good at that part of keeping his movements a secret that he doubted anyone would be able to figure it out unless she wanted and allowed them to. This would naturally give them plenty of leeway in their efforts to maintain John's civilian identity and that was going to be key helping them in this stage.

……..

On the ground…

As they moved through the snow, the Spartan checked his gear, on his right thigh was his M6G Magnum and on his back was a fully charged Spartan Laser ready for combat and in his hands was a Ma5C ICWS Assault Rifle with a full combat load, his BATs were moving at an excellent pace and were in a loose but effective supporting pattern, following the old saying.

'Five men in a group is a juicy target, one man is a waste of rounds.'

This formation was loose to make sure that they were not hit by a weapon that could easily wipe them all out with one strike. As John led the assault, the Spartan quickly got into contact with Cortana to get some quick information on what was going on in front of them as they moved through the environment, it was still some distance before they would approach the site of the battle.

"Cortana, what's going on?"

"The Joes and the October Guard are currently pinned down by heavy weapons fire, apparently Cobra had been planning this attack well, they had half of their forces there, comprised of BATs to hold the location and engage both the Joes and the October Guard, they drew both groups in and when that happened, the rest of their forces closed in, they plan to wipe out the Joes and the October Guard and then do what they wanted, getting rid of two sides and committing their plans at the very same time."

"That's not good."

"Right….we need to hurry and fast John, if Cobra succeeds in this, they can strike a fatal blow to the Joes and to the October Guard since the top members of each team happens to be in this situation. If the Cobra forces succeed in their plans, then we are talking of a major incident that will plunge two countries into one heck of a shooting match. As far as I can see from the satellite data as well as the feeds from the Wombats I released earlier, the Joes have taken the compound but are now being pinned by the Cobra forces who have appeared from the outside."

"How many of them?"

"At least several regiments from the looks of it, all of the soldiers appear to be soldiers trained for arctic warfare since they appear to be dressed for the area that they happen to be fighting in, as well as a large number of BATs that appear to have been conditioned to fight in arctic temperatures. There appears to be three large groups of BATs and two of them happen to be advancing on the Joes."

The Spartan shook his head and new that speed was essential and then spoke to Cortana quickly to confirm something.

"Can you send out an artillery barrage on the Cobra Forces Cortana?"

……..

In the Ship…

Cortana quickly scanned the area and replied.

"That's not going to be easy John, there's a sudden increase of ship born traffic in the area and all it takes is some lucky crew out on a cruise to stumble in on me while I am out here. Even if we do have the photo-reactive panels online and I happen to have hacked into the Soviet Navy's Naval Command center as well as the SOSUS Network of the US Navy, coupled with the silent drive system we can't risk exposing the ship to anyone as it is, I can coordinate your movements via Wombat though. Once I get an all clear run, I can unleash the long range cannons with the aid of the Wombats once we have some clearer weather to I can narrow down the risk of missing."

"Speaking of which, there appears to be a large number of Cobra Troopers heading nearby at your direction, they seem to be carrying heavy weapons and must be an attempt at trying to attack the Joes and the October Guard from the sides, recommend that you intercept and take them out before they can get into the right flanking position to really get to both the Joes and the October Guard."

……..

"Roger!"

The Spartan quickly made several quick commands into the COM and the BATs were quick to react to the commands of their commander and headed off to sent up an ambush while the Spartan was quick to set up himself into position while Cortana radioed the position of the incoming convoy, and the Spartan quickly spotted them and readied his weapons as the BATs were more than ready as they were in the proverbial L shaped ambush formation. The convoy appeared to have mortars and heavy rocket launchers, and all of them seemed to be more professional than the bunch he had been fighting with before.

Cortana then filled him on that these were Snow Serpents, soldiers trained for arctic warfare conditions and were a lot better trained than the regular goon squads of Cobra Troopers. But that didn't mean that they had the advantage as the Spartan was quick to determine from their movements that they were very confident that they were going to have the one up on the Joe team this time around, the Spartan decided that now was a good a time as any to break that confidence down to nothing as he spoke through his communication systems to the BATs and as soon as he got the response that showed that they were ready, the Spartan took off his Spartan Laser, aimed at the lead vehicle, allowed the targeting system to lock on to the H.I.S.S Tank.

The lead Snow Serpent only had time to gasp when he spotted the laser pointer on the H.I.S.S Tank's side, just as the Spartan Laser unleashed it's deadly beam right into the H.I.S.S and blew it to kingdom come and sending him into pieces, at that same moment, another H.I.S.S Tank in the rear was destroyed by another Spartan Laser shot, this threw the whole convoy into chaos as the snow storm continued to hit them hard.

The Snow Serpents began to look for their attackers, but they were only greeted by weapons fire as the Spartan gave the order to engage in full force via COM to the BATs who were given full authority to respond in kind as they unleashed rounds from their collected weapons. The Arctic Vipers were being cut down piece meal and it took a few seconds for them to get organized enough to launch a counter attack, however that was not going to get them far as the Spartan and the BATs were already on the move and hitting them hard while using the snow storm as cover.

One Snow Serpent tried to fire a rocket launcher but that was lost when he received several shots into the chest from the Spartan's MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle while another got a face full of Battle Rifle rounds just as she got her SAW ready, Another was literally dancing in the wind after receiving a barrage of M7S SMG rounds in the stomach. Another Snow Serpent had enough time to shout out in pain as he was hit hard by the butt of the Spartan's Assault Rifle and his head twisted in an uneven angle by the attack, another had no time to react when she was shot full of holes by the Spartan, and another Arctic Viper was quickly kicked in the chest and was dropped hard with several broken ribs

The rest of the Snow Serpents were being cut down by the BATs and there was a series of brief hand to hand combat runs but that worked completely in the favor of the BATs as they quickly and methodically eliminated the Arctic Vipers. Once the carnage was over, the Spartan quickly ordered the BATs to begin gathering all the mortars and rocket launchers and aim them right at the location where Cobra was and rig them with triggering systems to have them unleash their own fire power on their former allies the very second the Spartan activated the triggering mechanisms.

It took a bit longer but it would pay off soon enough when the time came, for now the Spartan focused his attention on helping the Joes and the October Guard, he could already see that since the Joes and the October Guard were in for some serious battles as the BATs began to unleash more firepower on the Joes thanks to the video shots being sent to him by the Wombats that were flying overhead on the battle field.

The Spartan and his group moved through the snow storm and quickly made their way to a path that was behind the station and they quickly hurried through the ruins while avoiding being seen by the three factions who were currently in this kind of a fight, this also allowed the Spartan to observe the October Guard in action.

As far as he could see, the group appeared to be professional in their actions and were certainly very capable in battle as they held their own against Cobra's numbers. There appeared to be a female soldier among them and apparently from what he could see, she was the only female soldier among the October Guard and she appeared to be armed with a high powered sniper rifle, namely the Russian made Dragunov Sniper Rifle, a very effective firearm and would be a serious threat to regular soldiers, another soldier was as big as bear and carrying a number of RPGs on his back as well as rocket launcher and an assault rifle. The rest of the solders appeared to be the kind expected from the Russian military and special forces.

He turned his attention to the Joe forces and found a number of familiar faces, namely Lady Jaye, Flint, Duke, Scarlett, Cover Girl, Gung Ho, Snow Job and Life Line, he was a bit confused as to why the Joes only sent this many and he was quick to recall that this was a joint operation and the other Joes would be able to be directed elsewhere if the situation demanded it. At this time, the Spartan was on top of a pile of rubble that came from one of the ruined buildings that was no doubt destroyed by Cobra initial attack on the facility.

However he didn't decide to interfere and focused on tracking down the storage control systems in the facility and lock them down to make sure that the Cobra forces were not going to get a chance to do what they wanted once they managed to overpower the Joes and the October Guard as well. The facility was his concern for now as he quickly checked the area, apparently the Joes and the October Guard were in the process of repairing the damage on the facility but that was when Cobra attacked and forced the two groups to halt their actions to lock down and control the damage.

John was quickly contacted by Cortana and she was already hacking into the Russian data network and located the schematics for the facility's design specs to make the needed actions to repair the facility's control networks, Thankfully the Spartan didn't need to wear any protection as the MJOLNIR Mark VI was designed for all environments and was more advanced than any hazmat suit that the facility had in it's inventory. The BATs on the other hand were not organic in any fashion and were able to go deep into the facility to effect repairs, though they had to leave their weapons behind in order to avoid damaging them in the locations that they were currently in.

Cortana began to inform them of what they needed to do in order to effect the repairs and since they were using UNSC COM systems that were more advanced than most, they would be able to avoid being picked up by the three sides fighting just outside of the compound, They moved quickly to get the facility back and operational, though the A.I also managed to hack her way into the base and override their security network to allow the Spartan and the BATs to avoid being recorded in the base's security archives.

Once their work was done, the Spartan and the BATs got their gear ready for combat, John was lucky that he had a full load to his weapons and carried a pair of grenades as well as a Bubble Shield with him which could be key for the defensive battle.

It was then that Cortana got into contact with him once more.

"John, it's looking bad, the Joes and the October Guard are being pinned and I've just spotted the BATs outside being armed with heavy assault weapons, the barriers there won't be able to take another salvo like that."

"Got it…on the way now."

The Spartan quickly contacted the BATs and they formed up behind him in the same loose formation and headed out of the facility to get to the aid of the Joes and the October Guard.

……..

Outside…

Duke growled a bit as he continued to fire his weapon in the freezing cold as he quickly moved back into cover as the Cobra forces unleashed another barrage of weapons fire. This mission had the makings of a possible ambush and his thoughts on that matter proved to more than right on the money. They had managed to defeat the BATs and the Arctic Vipers that had been in the base and were in the process of repairing the damage and having the wounded Russian soldiers in the area taken away for medical treatment as well as the facility's personnel until new people would arrive to clean up the mess.

But as soon as the people were out of the area, that was when the Cobra forces attacked en masse, forcing them to halt their attempts to repair the damage done to the facility by the Snakes and their forces. They soon found themselves in a dire situation as several of their tanks had been attacked with powerful anti-armor weapons and they were forced to use the battle field to get some cover as Cobra continued to ram their weapons fire right at them in full force.

Scarlett spoke as she reloaded another bolt into her crossbow and got to look at the forces before them.

"This is not going to be good, those BATs might have stopped shooting at us, but that only means that they are getting retrofitted once more."

Flint nodded at that.

"Scarlett's got a point, if those BATs line up and use whatever firepower they have with them then we are going to be in some serious situations Duke."

"I know that, but this snow storm is making it impossible for Ace and the others to get in support from the air, so we're going to have to do what we can down here."

That was when Duke turned to the leader of the October Guard, one Colonel Brekhov, he had a good deal of professional respect for the leader of the October Guard and they had worked before together in that mission hat had them dealing with 'aliens' though that turned out to be a ruse made by Cobra.

"Colonel! Is there any chance that your fellow soldiers can lend us some help?"

"No, they are still unable to send in support due to the snow storm and they were not expecting heavy resistance here in this area, we are on our own I am afraid to say."

Duke shook his head and looked to see Gung Ho and Horrorshow unleashing their own fire power and he looked at Lifeline who was currently patching up the injuries on some of the others and he needed to think of something fast before this entire battle could come down on their heads hard and fast. It was then that hew heard a voice that he disliked a great deal.

"Duke! You and your forces are surrounded, there is no chance you will escape this."

"Do you worse Destro! We will never surrender!"

"HAHAHAHA!!!! What say you Colonel Brekhov? I will show you some mercy and let you leave."

The Colonel however was not the least bit moved by this and shouted back at Destroy, he had no love for Cobra and they had threatened his mother-land and that was something that he had little to no tolerance for.

"You dare speak of mercy after you attack my fellow soldiers and threaten to reduce my mother-land's coasts and seas into a ruin?! I spit at your mercy!"

Destro laughed at that and spoke out to the assembled Joes and the October Guard.

"Brave and defiant to the last I see….at least you are all going to die together as brother soldiers! Once you are dealt with, then Cobra will have our prize, after all, we're not content with just an ecological disaster. We intend to start a war between the UUSR and the US soon enough and when that happens, we will sweep down and claim both war torn nations for ourselves….a pity that you will never live to see the fall of both nations."

Tomax and Xamot along with the other Snow Serpents had now fully equipped the BATs with all the needed firepower and they were soon lined up and ready to attack the Joes and the October Guard, the Joes could only get ready for the incoming onslaught and the same could be said for the October Guard as they also braced for the soon to come assault. H.I.S.S Tanks were also getting ready to support the BATs in their mission to blast the Joes into nothing but stains on the snow alongside the October Guard.

None of them had to wait for very long as a massive hailstorm of bullets, cannon shells, laser bolts came right at them, the two sides braced for the soon to hit mess and hoped that even then they would be given a chance to fight back. They had no intention of going out like this. And they were not going to as before they were able to hear the sounds of weapons hitting their position, there were a dozen foot steps that arrived and they head something hit the ground and give out a powerful hiss.

……..

Destro laughed as he looked at the smoke where the Joes and the October Guard had been before and hoped to finally see the end of them once and for all. He was not alone as Tomax and Xamot were also looking on as well as the other Cobra Troopers who were all smiling at the carnage as the BATs were finally given the order to stop.

"Hah…..nothing can live through that firestorm, not even the Joes and the October Guard!"

Destro's rant and the planned speech of both Tomax and Xamot however was cut short as the smoke cleared and to their surprise there was a glowing dome made from hexagonal panels of yellow energy, he and the Crimson Twins as well as the Cobra Troopers were then shocked as a massive beam of light suddenly came right at them. The BATs that were there were hit by the beam and they were quickly destroyed en masse in a massive fireball that sent parts everywhere, some Cobra Troopers were also killed in the fireball and that forced the once confident Cobra forces to break their formation.

Just as they were about to make another move, another massive beam of pure red energy smashed into the nearby group of BATs before they could even fire and they were also reduced into nothing but burning scrape. As soon as the smoke cleared, Destro and the Crimson Twins were gifted with the sight of a twelve man force of unknown beings behind the shield, two of them were carrying what appeared to be massive hand held cannons. Destro spotted one of them that appeared to be more heavily armored than the others and was the apparent leader of this group of white armored beings.

(Who or what is that?!)

Destro had never seen anything like this before in his life and neither did the twins as they were staring in shock, they normally had something to say for any occasion, but this was the first time that they were unable to say anything concrete to describe what was it they were looking at right now.

……..

As for the Joes…

Flint, Duke, Scarlett, Lady Jaye, Gung Ho, Snow Job, Life Line, Cover Girl, and several of the other Joes were looking at the sudden arrivals with expressions of absolute disbelief, they and the October Guard were getting ready to hit the ground and hope that they would survive the fire storm but suddenly they were not being hit and only heard sounds one would associate with the sounds of pellets hitting a steel wall, and when they looked about, they were stunned t find themselves in a dome of glowing hexagonal plates comprised entirely of energy. They turned and there behind them was some sort of device that was glowing and there next to them was a twelve man team who were unlike anything they had ever seen before in their lives.

The Joes and the October Guard were quick to recover from a portion of their surprise and being the study the new arrivals. They were quick to note that eleven of the new arrivals carried weapons that they never saw before though Scarlett looked at some of the weapons that were present with recognition. The eleven soldiers wore what appeared to be some sort of advanced infantry body armor with thick and strong looking alloy plating that seemed to have been colored specifically for this kind of environment, and their uniforms were also made to give them excellent camouflage in the cold area that they were currently in. Two of the soldiers were there and had fired the beams of energy that had created two large steam clouds, showing the extreme heat generated by the weapons.

The Joes had to admit that they had never seen such weapons that were carried by two of the soldiers before them and the sheer power those things had in wiping out entire formations of BATs in only one beam each was impressive, as well as the fact that the device that created the field around them was unlike any device that they had ever seen before. On their armor were the words 'Spartan Company' in golden letters.

The same question was reverberating in the minds of just about everyone in the Joes and the October Guard.

(Who the heck is the Spartan Company?!)

But their leader was the one that got the most attention from the Joes and the October Guard, the man or whatever he was wore armor that covered him from head to toe and was in white and silver without the face being revealed and when the being finally stood up it did so with a fluidity that was not machine, but with a speed and precision that was not human at the very same time. He carried another rifle as well on his back and a pistol on his right thigh.

Scarlett then spoke and that was enough to get the attention of her fellow Joes.

"That assault rifle he and the others are carrying…..I recognize them!"

Duke looked at Scarlett and he could see that she was telling the truth, but before he could say anything, the heavily armored soldier spoke out in a voice that was distinctly that of a native from none other than that of an English speaking Greek, unaware that John's helmet speakers were modified to make his voice sound different in order to hide his identity even more from those who would try to identify him.

"Spartan Company! Attack!!!"

With that, the twelve man strike team quickly moved out just as the Bubble Shield finally lost all power and the shields faded, and the very second that happened, the entire battle field erupted once more as the Spartan and his converted BATs were now attacking the still stunned Cobra forces while the Joes and the October Guard were left with more questions than answers. And that suited the Spartan just fine as he and the BATs under his command were now on the move to engage the Cobra Forces.

That was the exact moment that the skies were clearing up and in that moment, There was a screaming sound heading right for the Cobra forces, the sound was that of artillery and the results spoke or rather shouted for themselves as the H.I.S.S Tanks on the back were suddenly blown to shred by artillery rounds.

It seemed that Cortana now had the ship in the right position with alerting any of the ship traffic and began to unleash hell as the Spartan and the BATs were now closing in and attacking the now stunned Cobra forces, and it was at this point that the Spartan activated the surprise. Destro and the Twins were now stunned to find themselves being attacked by unseen artillery and seeing missiles and mortar rounds coming right for them.

What should have been an easy to accomplish mission had just turned into a nightmare as their forces were being assaulted by the unknown forces as the Joes and the October Guard looked on as the shield around them faded away and the device harmlessly destroyed itself, preventing anyone from trying to recover the device in any fashion.

Dukle however shook himself out of his stupor and stared at the others and spoke out.

"Come on, now is the time to take the fight to those snakes!"

"Hold up Duke! We don't know who they are!"

Scarlett spoke out to Duke and he understood her worry as they themselves knew next to nothing on who this Spartan Company was at the moment. But he could see that they had a chance in taking Cobra out once and for all, and he had a feeling that these guys are not on the side of Cobra, if they were, they had the chance to wipe them all out back there, but they didn't. He was taking a huge risk but it was better than nothing.

"I know. But we don't have much choice, come on! YO JOE!!!!!" Duke quickly got out and began to attack the Cobra forces, he managed to reach the Spartan Company as the apparent leader was giving hand signals to his troopers to seek out cover and attack at opportunity. The Joe commander was quick to join up with the leader and spotted a Snow Serpent armed with a sniper rifle aiming at the leader and he quickly shot the soldier despite the distance due to his own rifle having a scope.

The leader looked at him and Duke felt a moment of fear and awe hit him, unfamiliar feelings for sure, but he had never seen anyone like this one before. Then the being spoke out to him.

"My thanks to you."

Duke shook himself clear and replied.

"You saved my team back there, it's the least I could do, the name's Duke."

That was when the man suddenly moved to the side and Duke saw the man's form glow golden and he saw the man drop a Snow Serpent with lethal accuracy, apparently the trooper was trying to shook Duke in retaliation for taking out one of their own when he supported the armored giant, Duke was shocked by this as he recalled seeing the golden light that surrounded the man and he appeared to be totally unharmed.

(Was I seeing things or was that a shield of some sort?!)

The armored behemoth then spoke back.

"Now we are even, I cannot give you my true name Duke, so my code name will have to do."

"And that is?"

"Leonidas."

……..

To be continued…

……..

Author's Notes:

This wraps up this newest chapter of the G.I Joe Halo…

Well, here is another story board and this time the Joes and Cobra get a good eye full of the Master Chief, and they are not the only ones either as the October Guard get an eye full of the Spartan as well. Only this time the Chief is not alone as he is escorted by a near dozen of custom built BATs that Cortana was able to get the plans for and built them from the ground up.

Now it might have been some time since I have seen the BATs from the Sunbrow series of G.I Joe cartoons but I remember them well enough and the BATs mentioned here re these variants. As you can see that the ones that Cortana had made have been given some serious overhauls and are actually able to fight and move like real soldiers instead of lining up like a bunch of dominos on legs when they can get blasted by a single rocket to the chest and be wiped out.

These custom built BATs can't be hacked since they are constructed in the UNSC fashion and are designed to actually be faster and more capable than the standard form that they were designed from. They also happen to have better armor plating so they can take greater damage and have increased protection due to the integrated Body Armor that they have on. Due to their enhanced logic systems and the core programs, these Bats will behave like real soldiers.

That means they will move in sync with one another, provide covering fire for an advance, find effective cover from enemy fire, crouch when needed for cover and accurate shooting, snipe their enemies as soon as they have a clear shot, they can fall back when under heavy fire, throw grenades when given the order, drive vehicles, operate heavy weapons, use sniper weapons….everything you can expect real soldiers to do in the field of battle….these BATs can do and then some.

Add to that, they are piloted by Dumb A.I copies of John himself, this means that the BATs have the same level of experience that the Master Chief has so when given orders, they can easily use the data in their CPUs to execute their orders for maximum effect. They can also make the right moves when they need to handle things on their own as they can use the data in them to act in the environment as well as use the right.

And don't worry, they CAN tell the difference between friends and enemies unlike the Cobra BATs who just plow through friend and foe without giving a single byte of a damn on who they shoot.

How will the three sides react to the 'Spartan Company' after the end of the battle?

Wait and see!


	8. Chapter 8

G.I Joe Halo

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to G.I Joe and Halo, I wish I did, but I don't, okay?

Chapter 7

Arctic Aftermath…

( ): Thoughts

…

In Russia…

Duke was able to get his bearings and duck down as the bullets flew overhead and the sounds of gunfire were all over the place. He aimed his own weapon and fired several shots, one taking a Snow Serpent right in the head, he quickly turned his attention and shot down another Cobra Trooper coming at the two of them. The Spartan turned and fired a burst that killed two more Snow Serpents and quickly moved out from cover, this surprised Duke until he spotted the glowing energy field that appeared around the armored human. The man continued to move while firing at the very same time with his weapon, killing even more of the Cobra forces while the Joe looked on in utter surprise…and for good reason as he looked at the Spartan's protective energy shell.

(You've got to be kidding…is he actually using an energy shield?)

Duke naturally not the only person to take notice as Destro and the Crimson Twins, who after recovering from the initial shock of the attack and recovering enough of their mental faculties to see the MJOLNIR Mark VI's shield in action. The arms dealer of Cobra as well as the leaders of the Crimson Guard were utterly surprised by this as Destro thought to himself.

(Impossible! That armored human actually has a working personnel energy shield! Such a thing never even got off the theory stage! Where did he get that kind of technology?)

That was true, while Cobra and the Joes did use energy as a form of protection, they had never developed a portable energy shield system for personnel as it was all theory and speculation and was honestly too expensive to even be considered useful for mass production and field use. But right before him was a soldier wearing advanced looking armor and armed with an actual shield system. He quickly turned to one of the Snow Serpents and shouted out orders.

"Get me a scanner on that being now!"

The Snow Serpent nodded as she rushed to get the device, while the rest of her unit were busy fighting it out with the forces of this new group that had not only saved both the Joes and the October Guard from death, but had completely caught them off guard and had decimated them, and to add more fuel to the fire, there was the unknown force that was loaning them artillery support at such a distance.

As soon as she got back and gave the device to Destro, she was getting into the fight along with the others and soon, the masked terrorist was looking through the scanner device on the Spartan as he moved through the battle field, firing all the while. To Destro's amazement, the man was moving as astounding speed, far beyond anything he had thought a person wearing such armor was capable of doing.

He looked at the device's systems and read the readouts and his jaw nearly dropped.

(Incredible….the man's speed is near instantaneous…is he even human? Could he actually be a machine…no, the movements are too fluid and natural to be a machine, not even the BATs we have come close to such speeds.)

Destro had to stop and duck as several bullets flew overhead, one had even passed mere millimeters from his head and he was quick to hide as despite having that metal mask which protected him from the occasional flying debris, it was not meant to handle direct hits from bullets. The Crimson Twins also took the time to take cover and moved under cover to speak to Destro with Tomax starting the whole conversation and Xamot finishing for his brother.

"Just who the…"

"Heck is this man?"

"I do not know, but we have to fight back now!"

The Snow Serpents and their other allies, including the Cobra troopers and the surviving BATs began to counter attack, but the artillery barrage that came from out of nowhere had done a considerable amount of damage to them all and it was not going to be easy with most of their vehicles destroyed by the initial attacks. As they tried to rally, it was not long before Duke was soon joined by the other Joes and naturally the October Guard who were more than ready to attack Cobra.

Duke watched as the Spartan moved through the blasts of fire still being protected by his shield system and taking out target after target with blinding speed and power, all the while he was being supported by his fellow soldiers in armor and when he was done moving, they would move in crisp military formation and attack at the Cobra forces. The ones who were armed with the weapons that fired the laser firing heavy weapons aimed at several tight formations of Snow Serpents and some BATs and then two massive beams smashed hard and reduced said forces into nothing but parts and smoking ruins. Without any hesitation, the two forces were closing in and blasting away.

They were soon greeted by the sight of a wave of the surviving BATs charging towards the Spartan who quickly placed aside the rifle he had with him. And attacked them head on, and the results were so shocking to just about everyone that it made them stare. The only one they knew who could tear BATs to pieces with his bare hands was Sgt. Slaughter himself, but this guy was doing that and more. BAT heads arms, legs, and whole torsos were sent flying in different directions and the snow was soon being piled up fast and thick. The destruction was growing by the second and soon the BATs that had attempted to gang up on the Spartan were now nothing more than ruined metallic bodies scattered all over the place.

The Spartan grabbed one BAT and he quickly smashed his fist deep into the face area and had the BAT tossed aside as he quickly fired several more blasts of his Assault Rifle as the other armored soldiers moved to support him while keeping the Cobra forces pinned down as well as taking down several more enemies with precise shots of their own. The battle was soon turning to the side of the Joes and the October Guard as despite their attempts to launch a counter attack, Cobra was still reeling from the attack of the Spartan Company.

John moved in for cover and was about to turn and shoot a nearby target when Cortana warned him of an incoming number of Snow Serpents aiming at him. He stopped and fired at the direction and killed three of the Troopers but as he was reloading his MA5C Assault Rifle, he spotted one of the surviving Snow Serpents was about to toss a grenade at him. However that was when a shot rang out and wounded the man in the arm, forcing him to drop his weapon and seek cover as the grenade went off.

John turned and to his surprise, found Courtney Krieger moving towards him with a smoking rifle and joining him in cover, she moved her blonde hair aside and spoke to him.

"Hey, sorry if I surprised you, but I figured since you saved our lives one of us should repay you in kind."

John then replied to that as he regained his focus as it had been the first time he had seen anyone shoot like that, though he had hard stories about some shooters being that capable.

"No problem."

John quickly redirected his forces to make the counter attack of Cobra break down, as the fighting grew a lot more intense by the second, he decided that now was a good time to bring it to a grinding halt. He quickly located the last remaining HISS Tanks and several troop transports and called in the artillery strike from the ship which was still very much a good distance from the shore. Cortana was quick to answer and soon unleashed a wave of shells towards the target.

John quickly signaled his B. and they quickly took cover, the moment that the Joes and the October Guard who were near enough to see the Spartan realized what was happening and did the very same thing and sought cover as the roaring shells came overhead and smashed into the Cobra forces, throwing them further into disarray. The Spartan was quick to move in and attack, unleashing several more bursts as he had reloaded his weapons from before, and his B. were right behind him, unleashing weapons fire of their own and they were soon joined by the Joes and the October Guard.

But the Cobra forces were now in full retreat as both Destro and the Crimson Twins had given the order for all of them to retreat immediately. They were soon out of the way and although the Joes were now chasing them as well as the October Guard, the Spartan signaled via comm.-link to the B. to halt their pursuit of Cobra and get ready to leave the area. However, as he was about to leave Duke and several of the Joes turned around to see him and his unit leaving.

Duke quickly called out to the Spartan.

"Hold it! We need to talk!"

John however didn't waste time as he was soon told by Cortana that the Pelican was in the area and ready to take them away from the battle zone and he was quick to move out. The Joes and the October Guard were stunned as the Spartan and his soldiers took off at full speed, leaving them behind rather suddenly in the proverbial dust, or rather snow.

Duke looked on and couldn't help but wonder just what was going on.

"That guy and his buddies just took off like Olympic level athletes…damn!"

Duke and the others tried to catch up with the group but the Spartan and his unit was already a fair distance from them. As they arrived in the pickup spot, the Spartan waited as the cloaked Pelican landed there before them, he could see it only with the thermal vision mode in his MJOLNIR Mark VI and the same could be said for the B. . They soon got onboard and were now off to return to the ship and soon head back to their naval base, there was no doubt that sooner or later, he and Cortana were going to have a more serious confrontation between them and the Joes.

But for now, that would have to wait.

…

Later…

Duke spoke through the radio to Flint and Cover-girl who had gone ahead after the Spartan and his followers as they had taken off at such a speed that surprised both them and the October Guard. He had hoped to find out more about them but it seemed that they had given the teams the slip completely. This was going to be a tough day as he knew that things were going to get very interesting once they got back to the Pit and give their report to General Hawk.

"Any luck to finding out where the heck they disappeared to?"

Flint replied to that as they scanned the area.

"Negative, they upped and left the area in a hurry Duke, the only possible way they could have escaped is that they had a transport waiting for them here and when they got onboard, it took off."

"How come we didn't even see it, it should have showed up on radar somewhere."

Cover Girl replied to that.

"Maybe their transport has some sort of cloaking device, it was here since we found some exposed soil and a lot melted ice puddles here that would have been made only by heat sources. The transport must have been here and quickly took off and since it was cloaked it might be the reason why we never picked it up on radar."

Duke sighed at that.

"Wonderful….all right, head back here to us, we'll be heading back to base and fly back to the Pit."

The Joes bid farewell to the October Guard and both groups knew that this was going to be a very serious discussion for them and their respective commands.

…

In the Ghost Eagle…

John took off his helmet and sat down in front of the planning table and placed his Assault Rifle near him as he looked at the images of the Joes and the October Guard moving out and heading home. He sighed a bit as Cortana appeared and greeted him with a smile as the A.I was now guiding the ship out of the area while avoiding civilian and military vessel traffic.

"You okay John?"

"Yeah, those B. did all right, but it still kind of makes me feel a bit unsettled working with machines when I'm used to handling missions with humans and on occasion, aliens."

"True, but we can't exactly hire some help unless we're dealing with the civilian aspect of our cover, so we'll have to make do with the B. for the moment. In the mean time, we need to head back to the base and get back to leading our double life for now."

John sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose and spoke out.

"I hate paperwork."

…

Back in the Pit three days later…

Duke sighed as he finished his latest report on the episode in Russia and when he was done, he moved his head a bit to get rid of the stiffness there. The sounds of the stress being forced out of his neck was short and he was happy that he was feeling a lot more limber than before. He printed out the report and placed it into an official envelope that would soon be sent to General Hawk who was currently taking care of duties in Washington.

Once he was done, the door opened and in walked Scarlett and carrying a tray with two cups of hot coffee, he smiled a bit and replied.

"Nice to see you Scarlett, thanks for the coffee, I can really use the boost."

The redhead smiled and replied as she placed the tray down and handed one of the cups to Duke while she took the other.

"I can see that easily enough, you seem to be really stressed out by the whole affair that we had to deal with back in Russia."

"I am, we still don't know anything about those people who came and saved our butts, whether they were allies or some new faction that we might end up fighting."

Scarlett knew that to be true, she had recently heard from the grapevine that the heads of the C.I.A, the DOD, and the NSA were going bananas for any information on this new force that had just upstaged both the Joes and the October Guard. They were bleeding all of their assets in the field and at home dry to find anything g that could lead them to any information of the Spartan group.

"You know Duke, there have reports of the C.I.A sending agents to Greece to see if there is any information on the Spartan Company since they were all speaking in Greek as there was a Greek accent to the leader."

"I suppose, but still, I can't help but wonder just who they are and if they are related to the man who had been there in that building that Cobra attacked in Fairfax."

Scarlett thought about that as she had seen them using the same rifle that she had seen on that soldier in black armor before. However there was a big possibility that the man who she had seen must be from a different branch of the same unit, and there was the fact that this guy was wearing a far different symbol and carried a different name than those of the Spartan company for rather obvious reasons.

As the two were thinking about what they would be doing soon, it was not long before they were told to head straight for the command center as General Hawk had gotten some intel concerning a rise in Cobra activity.

…

In another Cobra base…

Cobra Commander was utterly livid but managed to keep himself from going into another shouting match. He knew that it was not going to get him the results they needed and decided to keep his focus on the task at hand, however, he made his annoyance clear at this newest attack on their operations by yet another group that they knew next to nothing about. He naturally did this by directing his attention to both Destro and the Crimson Twins.

"Exactly how did this mission fail Destro? You and the Twins had more than enough fire-power to finally end the Joes and the October Guard. But then you three come back like whipped dogs."

"It was not our fault Commander, this new group, this Spartan Company as they were called was an unknown factor that was not in our plans to say the very least."

"Maybe, but there's not much to do right now, first this samurai like warrior attacks one of our convoys in Africa, then this lone male terminates one of our bases in South America, then another intercepts our attempt to hack the CIA's databases. I want to know just what in the name of all that is sacred is going on here! WHO is making us look like idiots for the past few years?"

Destro then replied to that.

"We do have some good news Cobra Commander, we managed to gather some intelligence concerning this attacker and his forces, I would like to present the information to you here so we may be able to make some more sense of what has been happening recently concerning this unknown force."

"This had better be worth it Destro."

As the images began to play before them all, it was not long before the Baroness and Storm Shadow recognized several things in the video. Namely some of the weapons carried by some of the soldiers, and the ninja then pointed out that the leader of the Spartan Company had armor similar to the samurai warrior he had fought with before and seemed to have energy shields as well. As soon as the images were finished playing, the group of Cobra officers spoke to one another about what they had seen.

It became apparent to them that the people that they had seen already might be part of some covert organization that was really hidden if both them and the Joes had absolutely no idea what was going on and who these people were before them.

After some time, they soon began to discuss what they had planned concerning a certain company. And as soon as they were done, they began to gather all the needed resources and assets for the soon to come mission that would help them recover from the devastating reverses that they had been having since the arrival of this group.

…

In the town of Reach, Montana three days later…

Duke looked the town over and found it to be rather quaint and simple, the same could be said for the other Joes in his party as they looked over at the newly registered town. The people there were doing all right and to their surprise, it was a fairly busy town as people were more moving about and doing what people would normally associate with towns of it's size. Leatherneck spoke at this point as he looked the place over.

"Not a bad looking place thus far Duke, so what are we doing here of all places?"

"We're going to visit John Mendez's place of business and see if we can ask for his help in treating Snake Eyes' injuries."

"Shouldn't we be using the materials and supplies he's supposed to be sending our way?"

"Well, as you can guess, his company is still finalizing the documentation and after all, this is a social visit since there's still a lot of paperwork to do before we can get access to the rest of his company's supplies…and besides that, we've gotten some recently disturbing information."

The marine looked at his commanding officer with some level of worry at that exact statement and spoke out for the others in the group.

"You think he's got some shady business partners or a bad past that the C.I.A might have missed?"

"No, there's been a number of rumors that Cobra or any other shady elements might take a serious interest in the kinds of medical technology he has. They might try to force him to change his mind to help us, or worse, they might try to kidnap him and force his company to make their supplies for them and forcing him to them access to his company's more advanced medical technology. If Cobra gets their hands on that kind of technology, there's no telling what they might do with it. Plus Flint, Hawk, and I also happen to be interested in studying that personal helicopter of his, we might find some good uses for it in the Joes' arsenal as well."

The others nodded at that as they were already aware of just how serious Cobra was in accomplishing global domination and getting new technology to use for their own ends was something that they loved doing more than anything. Cover-Girl then spoke to Duke as she looked over the town.

"So why are we here exactly Duke, shouldn't we be going to his company building first?"

"We are, the building happens to be a fair distance from the town itself, but the town is the only place where there is a direct route to the building in the first place. Besides, while we're there, we might get to have a chance to see more of his operation in a more personal setting."

The Joes got on their rides and headed off to the building while a number of the people there were surprised to actually see the Joes there in their town for the first time. They greeted them and some of the children who were there were also happy to see the famous Joes in their town of all places. As the group made it through the town they were able to spot someone that they were able to recognize.

The man in question was none other than John Mendez's personal pilot James Dawson, he seemed to be leaving his home and heading off to work so the Joes stopped their small group and decided to speak with him. Duke was the first step out of their vehicle and greet the man.

"Hello there Mr. Dawson."

James was naturally surprised by this as he recognized Duke easily enough.

"Hello…this is a surprise, the boss didn't mention anything about a visit by the Joes of all things."

Duke smiled at the truth of that and replied.

"We're here on the more personal matter actually, is your boss there in the company right now?"

James thought it over and mentally checked the schedule that his boss had on him and replied.

"Yeah, he should be there right now, he usually stays in the office for a few hours doing the usual paper-work that most bosses of his position are doing, has his lunch alongside the executive staff and usually takes time to oversee the progress in the labs and factories himself, before heading home in his own ride."

This made Lady Jaye, Scarlett and Cover-Girl raise their eye brows and Cover Girl was the very first to speak on what they had learned of the man.

"He drives home by himself?"

"Yes he does, he drives a very muscled up ATV that I've never seen before, so he probably had the vehicle custom built as well. He never lets anyone else drive it and to be honest, it's more of a serious heavy duty vehicle, more like the kind you see for military guys, than the kind used by company owners. But most of us under his employ don't really bother with those kinds of details since he's pretty much a good guy to work with. Plus the vehicle's his own so we don't bother him about it"

Wetsuit replied to that as well.

"Really? He must be a pretty good guy to work with then?"

"Yeah, I mean, I've worked with a lot of people before, and some of them I liked more than others, and some, I considered to be either idiots or bastards in suits. But Mr. Mendez is a pretty good boss, he makes sure that you get paid well, have a good place to live, have good meals, you get to socialize with others and have a good deal of things to do, and all he wants is for you to do your job and do it well. He rides the staff in Halsey Pharmaceuticals hard at times, as well as me, but we all know that if we work hard and work well, we get good rewards for it and he's fairly easy to talk to and he'll listen if you're not wasting his time."

Duke could tell that James was not kidding about his boss and made him a bit more curious about the man in question, however, he decided that it would be better to reserve those questions for another time.

"That's nice to hear, anyway, we'll see you there since we're going to visit the place soon enough."

The Joes then moved on towards the building itself and after a while, they spotted the building itself with the company logo there. The building was at least as large as a corporate building with the base being wide and high, at least several stories, which from Duke's observation was twelve stories up, not really a high corporate building as buildings went, but it was certainly an impressive sight. There in the parking lot were a number of cars and there were a number of security personnel.

The Joes quickly noted that the security force of the Halsey Pharmaceuticals Company were a lot better armed than the average security guards one saw, though they were not carrying a lot of heavy weapons at all due to the government not being keen on the idea of security forces having combat hardware that would effectively make them a Private Military Company since the US and many members of the UN were not very welcoming of mercenaries on general principle.

Most of the guards were wearing Kevlar body vests with the symbol of the company on them and carried a healthy mix of light weapons such as M-16A2s, HK-416s, M4 Carbines, HK-G36 Rifles, FN P90s, Heckler and Koch MP10s and UMPs, and Benelli M4 shotguns. As for pistols that the Joes could see, the security guards were packing Berreta 92 pistols, Glock Pistols, and the FN Five-seven pistols. The weapons also had M203 Grenade Launchers with the 40mm rounds as the company that John Mendez owned did undergo the paper work to have licensed access to such weapons which were normally not available for civilian uses .

All of which were enough to show that the company security guards were very well armed and no doubt were well trained. The Joes were a little concerned by this but they also noted that most of these weapons were expected from members of most SWAT forces and security forces who were given proper licenses to defend their places of employment. As they looked at the guards who were patrolling the area at regular intervals the guards noted the presence of the Joes and quickly sent word to the higher ups, they were soon greeted by the arrival of a small number of guards being escorted by a tall man with a military bearing.

…

Former USMC Captain Derek 'Iron-sights' Michaels was surprised to see the Joes here of all places, he had served in the Marine Corps for years and knew of the Joes, after all, one of his organization's best was part of the Joes and he was quick to recognize the Marine in question as he grinned at Leatherneck.

"Gunnery Sergeant Metzger, is that really you?"

Leatherneck looked and gave a grin and replied to that as he greeted his former fellow Marine.

"Captain Iron-sights! Now here's an ugly mug I'd recognize a full one thousand yards away in a dark night, how are you?"

The two Marines smiled at one another and shook hands, surprising just about everyone and they waited for the two apparent fellow marines to finish their greeting. Once that was over, Leatherneck did the introductions for his friend and the others and once that was over, Duke spoke to the man before him and the other Joes.

"I take it you happen to be a member of the company's security detail?"

"That's about right sir, I work with them and I happen to be part of the SWAT team leaders. We serve as support for the police here until they get a dedicated SWAT team of their own, since the town's only recently founded, it doesn't have a SWAT team in the police force just yet. It's a bit off the wall, I'll admit, but Mr. Mendez is a serious man in protecting his people and he's certainly a good boss to many of us here in the company."

Duke nodded and while he did find the practice a bit off the wall, he kept that to himself and spoke to the man once again, concerning the owner of the company he happened to be working for.

"Is your boss in?"

"Yeah, he arrived an hour or so ago, if you want, I can take you and your group in to meet him."

"We'd appreciate that."

The security detail took the Joes into the company complex and they were quick to see that the place was similar to a corporate complex, the main floor room was well made to be aesthetically pleasing yet have functionality at the same time. Iron-sights showed his recognition tag to the receptionist and she gave them the needed information and with that out of the way, the former Marine and his group guided them to the office of their boss and while there, the Joes looked at the rooms to see that they were all functional and well built along with being well ventilated, lighted, and supplies, showing that Mendez was a man who did what he could to make sure that his people got what they needed in order to make it through the day.

The building was very large as well, they went through several rooms that apparently were dedicated to manufacturing the various products made by the company as well as the regular rooms and more. As they made it through the rooms via escalator and walked to the next one, they asked questions from the former Marine and he gave them answers though he also pointed out that he did have to follow through the protocol and keep some secrets from them. There were check points there and Michaels did show his tags to make sure that they passed through all right.

The group arrived in the seventh floor and that was where they found the Master Chief's office as well as the barracks and armory for the security teams as well as a fully stocked medical center for them as well. Michaels smiled as they soon spotted the Master Chief in his civilian attire and actually out of his MJOLNIR mark VI Armor which was back in his base here in the US. The Spartan turned and Michaels greeted the Spartan.

"Mr. Mendez."

"Captain Michaels, I see you brought company."

"Yes Mr. Mendez, they requested to see you as soon as possible."

The Spartan nodded and looked at Duke and his group as he spoke to them seriously.

"Forgive me if I sound a bit off today, but I don't recall getting a message from General Hawk to be expecting you here today. I take it that this is not an official visit?"

Duke nodded and John looked the man over and he replied.

"Very well then, I think it's best we discuss this in the office, follow me."

…

Later…

The Joes looked at the office of the CEO and noted that the man was a bit different than most, he had a computer wired into his desk as well as some sort of metallic tank there though for what purpose they had no idea. There was a painting of the Battle of Thermopylae and several other books piled up there on a nearby shelf. The desk in question was old fashioned oak wood desk and a simple but comfortable leather chair there as well.

In the middle of the room was a large table and a number of chairs there for the possible meetings between the CEO and the officers in the staff of the building. In the front of the long table was the Master Chief's desk, well made but highly utilitarian and hardly the kind one would normally see inside a CEO's room.

John sat down on his chair and pressed a button to show a nearby drink cabinet and it had tea, fruit juice, some simple hard drinks and water, much to the surprise of the Joes as he spoke to them while gesturing to the well loaded drinking cabinet.

"If you'd like something to drink, be my guest, or you can have some coffee if you wish?"

Duke smiled a bit as he had to admit that despite being caught off guard, the man was well prepared for anything.

"It's all right sir, we came here on an unofficial matter, we wanted to ask if it is possible for your company to help one of our comrades with some medical matters."

"That depends on the exact level of injuries he or she has sustained and how long those injuries have been present. There are some risks with the surgery but so far the success rate for the company is very high. But before we get into the details, you might want to tell me more about this comrade of yours."

Duke nodded and pointed to Snake Eyes.

"That would be Snake Eyes over here."

John looked the silent commando over and saw a solder through and through when he gazed at the man. Duke then elaborated Snake Eye's injuries while John began to listen in and take out a PDA and recorded the information being handed to him by Duke while the other Joes were looking about in the man's office as well as looking at the floors above. John was busy with the details of Snake Eyes' injuries which he got in his military service and ran the information to Cortana who was secretly receiving the data while she was in the network.

As soon as it was done, Duke then spoke to the Master Chief while he was running the data through the PDA.

"So Mr. Mendez, is there any way your company can heal Snake Eyes' injuries?"

John waited and got a reply from Cortana and read over the information and replied to Duke's question.

"It is possible, however, his injuries have been fairly extensive and previous medical surgery has made new surgery a bit of a risk. His injuries have healed which will add further complications to the plan to have his damaged vocal cords replaced with new vocal cords based on his DNA patterns. It can be done, but it has some level of risk due to the fact that his previous injuries have already been healed before. So if he wants this, he will have to undergo some basic screening and tests to make sure that he will have a good chance in the surgery."

Duke could tell that John was very serious about this and looked at Snake Eyes to see just what was he going to say. Snake Eyes looked at the CEO and nodded as he then looked at Duke, the leader of the Joes in field operations nodded as well as he knew what that meant.

"He's agreeing with it, when can we…"

It was then that an incoming message alarm was heard by the people in the room and John quickly picked up a nearby phone and spoke to the person on the line.

"Chief Harris? What seems to be the problem? What? There's been some sort of riot in one of the malls? How many? That well armed? All right, we'll dispatch support immediately to your location."

John placed down the phone and soon moved to a nearby intercom system.

"Attention to all available members of Security, there is a riot occurring in the town of Reach, armed bikers along with a number of unknown armed assailants have attacked one of the malls in the town and have captured some hostages. All teams that are not on assigned patrols are to suit up and support the police forces immediately, those who are on assigned duties are to be ready on standby immediately."

Duke and the others were not very happy with what they had just heard and Scarlett spoke to the Spartan.

"What is going on?"

John turned and replied.

"Some armed bikers have attacked one of the malls in town and have taken a number of hostages, the local police there have cordoned the area and are trying to negotiate with the hostage takers, but they called in for heavy support just in case things get too dicey there for them."

…

It was not long before a number of the security personnel that made up the defense of the company building and it's grounds were now fully equipped to handle the situation before them and were now trooping off to the town to help the police with the current situation that was brewing there in the town. They wondered just who were the ones responsible for this attack on the town and why were they doing it.

…

In the Master Chief's office…

John and the Joes looked at the incoming news feed and it was not long before they were able to see the mall and soon spot one of the people who were attacking the town, and the Joes were quick to recognize one of them.

"Thrasher…it's the Dreadnoks."

John did not like the sound of that as this told him that the Cobra forces were here in his place of all places. He didn't need to guess just what they were after as he was a military strategist himself. There was no doubts at all in his mind that this was a diversion that was to mask a full scale assault on the company building. And sure enough, he was able to get a warning from Cortana when she sent him a message on his computer that several large planes were coming in along with a number of contacts…all of which she positively identified as Cobra transponder signals.

It was not long before Duke and the other Joes were able to spot the incoming threat and they turned to John and Lady Jaye spoke first.

"We'll go out and try to keep Cobra from going into this place, whatever they are after, we're going to do all that we cane to keep them from getting it!"

With that the Joes moved out to engage the forces of Cobra before they got into the compound with Duke quickly moving to get in contact with the Pit as Flint was currently the one handling the mission dispatches and watching over the place. They were going to need all the help that they could get.

In the mean time, John touched the Public Address System and spoke to all the staff in the building.

"Attention, this is John Mendez to all personnel in the building, we are under attack by terrorists intent on stealing the secrets of the company. All remaining security personnel are to lock down the facility and seal off the labs, workshops and living quarters of civilian personnel. All civilian personnel and scientists are to lock down and transfer all relevant data to the main drives of the computer network and purge backup copies of the information once data transfer is complete. Once that is complete all civilian personnel are to head to the safe rooms and await further instructions, all remaining security personnel are to arm up in the armory, hold off the terrorists until help arrives from the Joes as well as the rest of the security detail."

…

The Baroness was currently leading the attack force as the group attack force was now making their way into the area of the company building, their task was not to destroy the building but to pin the people there down and act as a distraction to keep whatever security personnel from interfering with her main assault elements who were moving in with trouble Bubbles as well as gliders. They were to move into the building from the air on all sides and secure it if they could and locate the information cores that would hold the secrets of this company.

As soon as her forces landed, she quickly ordered them to move into a building, and they soon encountered the security personnel who were there. Some were badly wounded by the attacks that Cobra launched and some did not make it. However, the rest were able to counter and force several elements of the Baroness's forces and keep them from getting any deeper into the building despite their lower numbers. The Baroness coordinated a number of them into the attack of the company building and soon some teams made it in and while some of these teams found themselves being pined down by the security forces, the others had made it into the building.

Outside the situation was definitely going badly. The security forces had suffered some casualties and they were pinned down as the Cobra forces brought some H.I.S.S tanks into the battle and it was only with their concentrated firepower that they kept the rest of the attacking forces from overwhelming them. The Joes were also there and providing heavy support with their own weapons which they had been able to get after leaving them with the receptionist who managed to give them the access key before she was escorted out of the fire zone.

While the Joes did not have any heavy weapons with them in the literal sense, their weapons added extra punch and Lady Jaye's custom made explosive javelins were more than helpful in damaging the H.I.S.S tanks which tried to advance and the cars in the area were soon turned into bombs in order to really hit the enemy fast and hard. However, without heavy weapons, the security personnel didn't exactly have much to work with that would be more effective against the armor.

Duke and the others were divided into two to cover the building but then Snake Eyes pointed to the building and Duke turned to spot a pitched battle between some security personnel and a Cobra strike team, he swore at that and realized that the building was being hit on all sides, but if he and the others left then the ground force would have an open shot into the building themselves and then they would be in real hot water. He knew that if Cobra was in the building then they would no doubt be after John as he was the CEO of the company.

He then turned to Cover Girl who was near them and since she was both armed and was the only one able to get back into the building, he knew that she would have to defend John from capture.

"Cover Girl! Get back into the building and protect Mr. Mendez, we'll hold the line here until backup from the Pit arrives!"

"What about you and the others Duke?"

"We'll be fine Cover Girl! Get to Mendez and keep him safe from those snakes!"

With that, Cover Girl rushed back into the building while Duke quickly got into contact with Flint at the Pit and inform them of the attack and their current situation with Cobra's sudden and unexpected assault in the town of Reach and the Halsey Pharmaceuticals building. They were going to need some serious firepower and they needed it all right now before they were going to be overrun by Cobra.

…

In his office…

John glared at the images and wished that he was there to help his people as the guards that remained were locking down the building and getting the scientists and workers to safety while the rest were fighting the Cobra forces with both the Joes outside and inside the building. The Spartan had build safe rooms into the building in the event of dangerous situations as well as special escape routes for the people to use, he had made sure that the routes were kept out of the blue prints of the building in every possible source and made sure that only a select few of the foremen, managers, scientists and the squad leaders of the security staff knew of the tunnels.

And he made sure that all of those said people were trust worthy with such information, he turned to Cortana who appeared in a nearby hidden holo-tank in his office that appeared the very second the two of them were alone in the office itself, and spoke to his long time companion.

"Cortana, have they all made it?"

"Yes, the critical staff have left and are already in the safe rooms, now we need to lock down the database permanently to keep Cobra from getting their hands on the information, I can already guess that they are after what we've been developing here and I shudder at what they might be able to do if Cobra got their hands on some of the UNSC medical technology we have."

John nodded to that and told Cortana to get herself to safety while he dealt with the databases. The building had four database cores, three were the base support while the head core was the main source. It held the data of the UNSC medical technology that both he and Cortana knew could be beneficial to this Earth and it's people as well as some of the more exotic products that could be a great aid to people, or a deadly tool in the wrong hands.

As soon as he was done, he was greeted by one of his security staff and also by Cover Girl who was carrying an M16A1, no doubt given to her when she went to the armory earlier before Cobra turned the once calm parking lot into a war zone. He quickly recognized the man with her as James Coburn, one of his trusted security team leaders, and spoke to him.

"James! Have the people been evacuated?"

"Yes Mr. Mendez! We've got them out of the danger and into the safe rooms and we've made sure to station the remaining security members who were still here to defend them."

"Good, we must make sure that none of our people get caught in the crossfire, I need you and the rest of the teams to find any survivors who are still out there and get them to safety, I need to go and initiate database core lockdown."

The man was worried for his boss, John might be stern and hard on people at times, but he was a good boss, did what he could make your lives comfortable and he was certainly a load better than some guys he had met. He had been a former Army Ranger but had been dishonorably discharged for striking a superior officer, even though the man was a complete louse and had given the wrong orders that resulted in a bloody fiasco that could have been avoided. The guy had a high ranking relative in the State Department to get the job, and most didn't want to court his anger.

All except him and he got drummed out for it, he had been down on his luck and was already being ridiculed by others but then John Mendez came and helped him with the case and got his name cleared by the Courts and the man was now rotting in prison and so was his relative who turned out to be a corrupt dealer in weapons to shady organizations. James was happy to have his name cleared and his honor redeemed by Mr. Mendez, and when he offered him a job, he jumped at the chance.

"You sure about that Mr. Mendez? I can do that for you if you want."

"I know you would James, but the people need you, I can handle myself, besides, Cover Girl here was asked to help keep me from getting punctured and I have no doubt she will do her job well."

Cover Girl nodded and replied.

"Don't worry, I'll keep him safe."

James nodded and saluted his boss as he went to do what he was ordered to do. Cover Girl noted that and looked at John, having to admit that most men who were business leaders when faced with an attack panicked, but this Mendez guy was cool as a cucumber and was focused on keeping his people safe and out of danger, she could respect that.

She then got her head together and focused on what she needed to do when Duke spoke to her when this attack happened on the complex and that was to keep the man safe from attack.

"Okay, what do you have in mind?"

John quickly guided Cover Girl through the complex to the first database core and explained what he planned to do.

"I have the lock down codes with me, but I need to input each code in three different terminals to authenticate the codes and lock down the database core. I need a few minutes to do that, can you buy me the time Cover Girl?"

Cover Girl nodded at that question and replied.

"Don't worry, I can handle that part well enough Mr. Mendez."

John knew that she could, after all, she had seen her in action already without her knowledge and she did have the reputation and skill to go with it. As they moved through the compound, John resisted the urge to find a weapon and fight to protect those under his charge, he knew that the second he revealed his military training as a Spartan II Commando , things were going to get complicated in a hurry.

It grated on his nerves as he heard the all too familiar sounds of bullets, explosions and the like around him as it sounded all to familiar and despite the role of being a civilian, he admitted that the sounds of the battle field had a strong allure to him as a Spartan. However, he was a professional and this was not the first time he had to pretend to be someone else entirely in covert missions.

As they moved through the building, John took cover when several Cobra Troopers came in and began to attack them as Cover Girl swung to action and took them down with precise shots with her weapon. As they moved to the first database core room, John quickly moved into the room and began to tap into the first terminal while Cover Girl covered him, she moved several desks quickly to make a barrier for her to use as well as some chairs and a sofa, adrenaline kicking in fast and hard into her blood stream.

As soon as she was done with the barrier, she checked her weapon, made sure it was clear and was working properly; she then took out her magazines and got them ready for use. John noted all that and had to admire her skill and professionalism. He placed that aside however as he began to work on the terminal.

The database core room was similar to the kind of room that was associated with computer data storage centers, a fairly large room with three massive computer banks in the middle. All three were connected to one another and had the three terminals to imitate full system lock down. They were also armed with highly advanced security systems that John and Cortana had tweaked covertly with UNSC security codes and cyber warfare packages to make sure than they were not easily hacked, the only way was to input the deactivation codes for the lock down.

John worked as best he could as Cover Girl continued to hold the line and take down several other Cobra Troopers that tried to break into the room and get to him as well as the database cores. All the while despite bullets and whatnot happening around him, John was determined and focused on locking down the data base core computers, this was noticed as well by the blonde Joe and she had to respect this guy a lot more.

It took a while until John told her that the computers were now on full lock down. Once they were done, Cover Girl and John moved to the next location, all the while, John had to tone down his abilities, if he had gone full tilt, he would have left Courtney behind in the dust had he ran at full speed, this further grated on his nerves but he kept it from showing. It was then that got an incoming call, he took out the cell-phone and saw it to be the head of his company's security detail. He quickly answered it and spoke to the line.

"This is Mendez, go ahead Mr. Michaels!"

"Sorry for the delay sir, we just got back from those false alarms the Cobra guys sprung on us! We've gotten behind the bastards and we're coordinating our fire with the Joes outside! We're doing our best to get to you and the others sir, but this might take a while! They've got some serious heavy armor out here and we've got nothing against to take on those tanks!"

"Understood! Keep them occupied until reinforcements arrive, tell the men to keep their heads down and stay cool, the people are in the safe rooms and those left here from security are holding the line. Don't lose any of your men as much as possible."

"Understood Mr. Mendez! I'm sorry we can't be there to back you up sir!"

"I'll be fine, one of the Joes is with me and so far we've locked down one of the database core rooms. I'll be back soon enough, hold the line Mr. Michaels."

"Yes sir!"

John placed aside his cell-phone and focused on the task at hand as they reached the next database core room. Once they were there, John repeated the same process though the terminal order was different this time around to make sure that the new computers were going to be on lockdown as well. The Cobra forces were moving in as there had been teams of them who had managed to bypass the security forces and the Joes outside, but their attempts to take down John or capture him were thwarted by Cover Girl as she covered John until she locked down the second database core room.

"It's done!"

Cover Girl nodded as they moved out to the next database core room, but then a stray blast from a H.I.S.S tank suddenly shook the building and made a section of the roof and sent down a section of masonry right at Cover Girl. The blonde looked up and tried to move, but that was then that John used his speed to grab her and move her away as the section of the roof hit the floor hard, John used his own body to shield Cover Girl from any debris and when it ended, he looked down to see if she was all right.

"Are you all right Cover Girl?"

Courtney shook her head a bit and couldn't help but feel a bit surprised and embarrassed to find herself in a rather compromising position of all things but she quickly placed that aside, as she knew that if John had not done that, she would have been crushed by the falling masonry and killed by it. Besides that, even though she would not admit it, this was not so bad as she got to see John's features up close and personal. She quickly reminded herself that she had a duty to perform, there was plenty of time for admiration later when they were not dodging Cobra forces and bullets as well.

She decided to reply to his question so to get her thoughts focused on what she had to do right here and right now.

"I am all right, thanks for saving me."

"Not a problem."

John quickly got off of Cover Girl and saw thankfully that the weapon she had was still intact but sadly the extra magazines were destroyed so now they only had four magazines left with them for the rest of the mission to be completed. Cover Girl however was not troubled with what happened and got ready for the rest of the mission. However, she quickly spoke to her communications unit.

"Duke! This is Cover Girl! What's going on?"

Duke replied quickly to Cover Girl's question through the communications unit.

"We've held the rest of Cobra down but we can get there to you since if we leave the point, they can send more teams in there, they've brought in heavy armor and we've got no weapons for those H.I.S.S Tanks. I've called in support from Flint and the others but it'll be a while before they make it!"

"Understood, me and Mr. Mendez are going to lock down the company's database core rooms so Cobra can't get their hands on the data!"

"Good, we'll hold them off but be careful, those snakes might sent teams in there already!"

"We know, we've been fighting teams of them as well. I'll do what I can but we're really going to need a good deal of help."

"Got it."

Cover Girl cut the communicator and focused on helping John as they made it the third and second to the last of the four rooms. However, John turned to another terminal as soon as they were in the room. He revealed a secondary security console that was a stand alone model from the rest of the security system. Cover Girl looked at the monitor as it revealed a full scale diagram of the building and revealed the people in the building.

"You sure have a knack for security Mr. Mendez."

John turned to Cover Girl and smiled a bit in reply.

"Considering the kind of things my company makes, it pays to be prepared for anything."

Cover Girl could understand that well enough as the medical technology here was very powerful, she went to securing the location and protecting the disguised Spartan as he repeated the same process but used a different terminal order and also a different setup of the codes to lock down this database core room. As soon as they were done, they moved out to the last and the main database core room, this one however was armed with an active security system that was only accessible to John himself and that would make sure that no one else would be able to enter the room itself.

However, it was then that several more Cobra Troopers arrived and Cover Girl had to use up her ammunition to take out the soldiers before she ran out of ammunition, several of them managed to pin the pair down and Cover Girl realized that she only at three magazines left for her weapon and that was not going to be enough. She turned spotted a fire extinguisher there and fired her rounds into it. The resulting blast of CO2 from the fire extinguisher was enough to surprise the Cobra troopers as Cover Girl quickly shot them dead and ran past them along with John, one trooper tried to strike at Cover Girl but he was blocked by John who decked him with a haymaker that sent the guy down like a sack of dropped potatoes, thankfully the blow was pulled back a lot by the Spartan so as not to reveal his augmentations, but the blow was enough to send the trooper into lala-land for the duration of the day. Cover Girl saw that and whistled a bit as they moved on and headed for the room in question.

She then spoke to the man as they ran while she dropped the magazine and loaded a new one into the assault rifle.

"That's one mean punch you hit that snake with, you train yourself or something?"

John was quick to reply to that.

"After I was raised by Dr. Halsey, I got bullied a bit so she asked me to take a self defense course apart from what I took before, it's been a while but at least I remembered how to do it."

John of course was lying as he knew many ways on how to kill people with his bare hands, as per his training as a Spartan, and with his augmentations, it was a snap for him to turn a simple punch into something powerful enough to send anyone into either the ICU or into a wooden box to be buried six feet under. But no one had to know that and it seemed that Cover Girl bought that lie as she dropped it and they moved on to the room to do what they came to do.

However it was not long before things were going down the bad road as the Cobra forces were getting a lot more serious in trying to get into the building and no doubt capture anyone who could access the database core rooms, but with three of the rooms in the more accessible floors on lock down courtesy of the CEO and Cover Girl, they were running out of options so they decided to look for the CEO as the people were already too heavily defended and in what appeared to safe rooms.

…

The Baroness growled a bit mentally as one of her teams had reported that they couldn't get to the room as the remaining security personnel there were really giving out a lot of resistance on them and while there were not that many security personnel, the fact that they were all former military personnel it was appeared to be good defensive positions made the idea of taking them a lot harder than it was initially.

She quickly gave the order for them to pull back and try to locate the CEO, if there was anyone who they could get to help them get access to the database core room. She contacted the other teams that were still alive and was not happy with what news they brought her. Apparently the three database core rooms were on full scale lock down and the only one that they were able to locate was the heavily secured one that they were able to determine from the data they got from one of the workers they had managed to drug and interrogate, however, they did know that the only one of the company that had access to the main database core room was the CEO himself and therefore, he had to be secured quickly before their forces would soon be facing the Joes.

The only good news in her mind at this moment was the fact that the mysterious force that had attacked them for some time now and had been a thorn on their side as badly as the Joes themselves had been were not around to stop them. The Cobra agent wondered briefly why that was the case.

(Surely something like this attack on such a company with advanced medical technology would get their attention by now.)

However, she decided to count her good fortune and focused on figuring out where the target was.

"This is the Baroness to all teams! Report the location of the CEO, John Terrance Mendez is the priority target!"

Due the fact that the Joes and the remaining security teams had managed to take down a number of the Cobra forces before they had to fight the reinforcements that the Baroness had on hand to attack the company building area with, there were not that many teams who were still alive, but those who were still very much alive and kicking and one such team was currently tracking the CEO and his now present Joe escort. They were soon able to go to the first room and saw their comrades dead and when they tried to access any of the terminals, they were not going anywhere fast. Seeing this, they quickly reported to the Baroness what had happened.

"Ma'am, This is Team Anaconda, we have found the remains of several of our fellow teams, apparently the CEO has an escort with him. We have entered one of the database core rooms but it appears to be on lock down and we cannot access it. We can guess that Mr. Mendez was the one who locked out the terminal, he may have done the same to the other database core rooms and he and his escort be heading for the main database core room, if they've locked down the three rooms already, he must be heading there!"

"Good, all surviving building teams this the Baroness, break into two force elements, the first element is to move out of the building focus on occupying the Joes as well as company security forces to make sure that they do not interfere with the operation, the second element is to focus on slowing down the CEO and his escort until we intercept them! Team Copperhead!"

"Yes Ma'am?"

"Have you located our secondary target?"

"Yes Ma'am, we've incapacitated the pilot and we have secured the package."

The woman smiled at the good news for a change and spoke out to the team in question.

"Good! Move quickly and take that vehicle out of here now!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

Baroness smiled as she and the other Cobra Troopers who were currently not in the mission of keeping the Joes occupied were now on their way to try and intercept the CEO and his Joe escort, everyone else in the building was to be ignored, but if they got in the way of Cobra and it's goals of world conquest, they were to be terminated immediately. She quickly moved to order the rest of the teams in the building to move out and try to intercept the CEO and his Joe escort.

It was not long before the Baroness was soon informed that the second element of their building teams that they had been able to locate and pin down the two while the first element was engaging the Joes as well as the security teams. She smiled as she and her force moved on the bypass the battle as best they could so they could ambush the two.

The sounds of battle was reverberating through the halls and soon became quiet, the baroness signaled her forces to keep their cool and wait for the right moment and when she spotted Cover Girl who was injured along with John, she gave the signal in the Cobra fashion.

"Cobra! Attack!"

This caught the two off guard and forced them to seek cover and that was enough for the Baroness to order her troopers to surround the two as well as pin them down with a good volume of fire, though the attack was merely to show to the two of them that they were very much in a bad situation and they only had one route…surrender.

…

Baroness looked at the pair as she and her group of Cobra forces had surrounded them in the hallway leading to the last database core room, and the main one at that. She and her forces held them at gun point and she spoke to the two of them.

"I suggest you drop your weapons and surrender right now."

Cover Girl gritted her teeth in pain as she looked at the wound from the bullet that grazed her left thigh and the fact that she also had some gashes on her right shoulder and arm from the battle she had before all this happened. She checked her weapon and she was not happy as she knew that she didn't have any more bullets left for her weapon. She looked at John and wished that she could at least have some weapons to keep the man from getting taken by those snakes. But she was being realistic as she knew that with her wounds and the lack of ammunition, she was not going to be able to do a good job.

John saw this and while this really grated on his nerves, he had to be realistic as well. He had to keep his abilities a secret to avoid arousing suspicion from both Cobra and the Joes. However, he did not like the thought of giving up. Surrender to an enemy was never an option for a Spartan and neither of them liked the idea all that much. Besides that, there was no telling what would happen to Cover Girl if he surrendered, there was a chance that they would kill her since they didn't need her, only him.

He nodded and so did Courtney as the two of them moved out of the place they were hiding, and Cover Girl reluctantly tossed her weapon aside and they both raised their hands.

…

In the hallway…

The Baroness grinned as she and her fellow Cobra forces were now facing Cover Girl and John, the Joe was armed with her rifle and she was before the head of the company, and the Baroness had to admit that for a businessman, John Terrance Mendez was certainly a cut above the rest of the businessmen she had seen in her long service as Cobra's Intelligence forces. He was certainly handsome and carried himself calmly even in the current circumstances.

Had she not been in a relationship with Destro and did not have this tie with Cobra she would have considered taking a chance at this man and make her own empire with the technology he had under his command. But now she placed those thoughts aside as she had a more serious mission to take. There was a chance that the data they had come for was data locked and would have some serious security measures. She decided that there was no reason for them to have Courtney here and signaled for one of the Troopers to take her down from the equation.

This was not lost to John as before the Cobra Trooper could fire at the defenseless Joe, he moved and blocked the Trooper's line of fire. The Cobra Trooper sought to make the Master Chief move aside, but the second he looked into the eyes of the Spartan he stopped and for some reason, he couldn't help but feel that there was something…some warning therein the man's eyes.

The Baroness snorted and then ordered another Trooper to take out restraints and tie the hands of the Master Chief and she spoke in a very mocking tone to Cover Girl.

"Now isn't that gallant of him Cover Girl? He's willing to take a shot for you of all people."

Cover Girl looked at John and then to the Baroness and spoke to the Cobra agent.

"At least he's better than those cowards you happen to have with you Baroness."

The Baroness smiled and replied.

"Hah, defiant to the end, as I expected of the Joes, but I'm afraid that with things as they are, I don't have time to indulge your attempt at goading me. Killing you however would not be wise if our target seeks to risk his life to keep you alive, so I suppose keeping you alive is a better option, though it would be best if you were not going to interrupt us. Trooper!"

The soldier nodded and quickly hit Courtney on the back of the head, knocking her unconscious and this left John alone as Cover Girl was placed aside and the Baroness then aimed her weapon right at his face.

John however remained calm despite the Cobra agent aiming her weapon inches from his face and she noted that, this surprised her as most people in positions of power in business were not exactly brave and she spoke to him.

"You seem very calm Mr. Mendez, has this happened to you often?"

"Not really, you're the first, but I have no intention in being your prisoner, and I certainly have no intention of letting you take any of my company's research data."

"Oh really? You happen to be alone Mr. Mendez, and we happen to be a good half dozen strong, you have no security with you and your G.I Joe escort has now been taken out of the equation. From where I stand, you have nothing that can stop us."

"Don't be too sure about that, I happen to be capable of defending myself, you may have the gun before me, but I am not going to let you keep me prisoner for long."

The Baroness laughed at that and even some of the Cobra Troopers laughed a bit at the way this CEO of a pharmaceutical company was facing them. She then replied to that.

"And just how do you plan on not being my prisoner Mr. Mendez?"

The Baroness had no idea that before her was one of most recognized military super soldiers from a far different reality than her own. One thing however was certain; she was really going to regret asking that question…

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the long delay, getting into the groove here for this story so I hope to crank out another chapter soon so I hope you all can wait until then for that chapter to come into being.

Well, this shows that this story is not dead and I have decided to bring this back to life first and I hope that this chapter will be the first of several updates that I will be working on. Now then, here we have some of the suggestions given to me by some of the readers of this work so I hope that it will be good enough for all the readers. Sorry for the possible haphazard work, after all the ideas flying in my brain, I had a hard time accessing my previous ideas on how this story will end so you'll have to pardon the way this story might turn out in the end.

Cobra has just attacked John's company to gain access to the medical technology therein and use it for their own ends as they determined that it has a large amount of applications for their forces, not just in medical care, but for espionage work and other things.

As for the Joes, they came there to see if it can help heal Snake Eyes' injuries as I have based Snake Eyes with both his comic and cartoon traits. They also want to see just how effective it will be for helping treat more serious cases.

But the one thing the two sides do want is to also take a look at John's personal transport and see if they could use it as a test bed platform for their forces.

These were suggested to me so I figured why not add them?

Also, we have some interesting moments with John and Courtney Krieger AKA Cover Girl, this is a good way to get things started between them, however, if there are other suggestions on who else can be paired with the Master Chief since Cortana is out of the loop on this one, please feel free to send them my way.

And now the Baroness has John at gun point and Cover Girl has just been knocked unconscious by the Cobra Troopers and now they want him to allow them access to the main database core room. But they are about to find out that just because they have the guns and he doesn't, John is hardly defenseless.

They have no idea that the man who had been bushwhacking their forces and costing them a fairly good amount of money is right in front of them. And you can bet that despite the fact that he's supposed to keep himself as a civilian and keep his full Spartan abilities under wraps, John's already a power house all on his own. So you can bet that the Baroness and company are going to be in for a very big surprise once they try to take the Spartan have him as a prisoner. Added to that is the fact that with Cover Girl out cold but alive, no one among the Joes would know that he was indeed more than what he actually was.

On the next chapter, John will have to deal with the clean up after the whole mess as well as deal with the need to replace his custom chopper, along with some other details that need to be ironed out soon, and also he will have to attend some special functions that are needed to help him retain his civilian identity, and this might actually allow him to socialize with the Joes, namely the one who had been with him in the building in order to keep the secrets safe. That means that John will be with Cover Girl once more as the event in question happens to be a social party gathering in a special gala event and Cover Girl, is requested to keep an eye on him and keep him from being kidnapped a second time by Cobra who will be eager to capture him once more.

See you in the next chapter!


	9. Chapter 9

G.I Joe Halo

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Sunbrow and Bungie…

Chapter 8

Recovery…

( ): Thoughts…

…

Outside…

Duke and the others were holding on and the arrival of the rest of the security teams had given them the edges, though not by much as without any form of heavy weapons apart from lady Jaye's javelins and Scarlett's crossbow bolts which had explosive rounds, they didn't have enough firepower to take out the armor there. The Cobra forces didn't exactly have it easier either as they were now being hit on both sides by the security forces and the Joes. They used the ruined remains of vehicles and the parking lot structures as cover as well as the remains of some of the H.I.S.S Tanks that had been destroyed in the fighting between them and the forces before them all.

Duke managed to take out another Cobra Trooper as he and the other Joes as well as the reserve security staff of Mendez's security forces were able to move closer and keep Cobra pinned while the other half that they were able to leave behind were now making sure to keep the Cobra forces at the rear of them occupied.

He swore as the bullets and more continued to fly all over the place, with their weapons not being in the area of working against armor, they were pinned down by the weapons of the H.I.S.S tanks and the firepower of the Cobra Troopers.

"Man…I hope we can get some serious firepower up here, how are you holding up Scarlett?"

The red haired woman replied to that question easily enough as she loaded another crossbow bolt into her crossbow.

"I'm running out of bolts Duke! We need to have some serious weaponry up here and soon."

"I know, Lady Jaye!"

The woman replied as she readied another one of her exploding javelins and got ready to fire.

"I'm running low too, we need some serious support now!"

And soon they were going to get it as their radios crackled with the cry that became their trademark cry.

"YO JOE!"

The Joes turned and soon saw a wing of Sky Strikers coming down and firing several missiles right into the H.I.S.S tanks, reducing them into nothing but burning ruins, this also had a negative effect on the Cobra forces as their armor support were now nothing more than ruined masses of burning metal all over the place, there were soon followed a by a large number of choppers and soon a number of Joes finally appeared and soon the fight was turning their way. They were not alone as a number of light attack vehicles and some heavy armor arrived on the scene to reinforce them all in this final battle

Duke grinned as he and the others as well as the Security teams were now moving and soon the Cobra forces, finding themselves pressed on all sides, their armor support cut off and many of their comrades now dead or too wounded to keep fighting surrendered, even those who were in the building saw that without armor support, they were not going to last long with the arrival of the Joes and their reinforcements, so they surrendered as well and the security team members who they had been fighting with before inside the floors were quick to move in and secure them. Some were tempted to kill the Cobra forces in retaliation for their attack on the company and harming the people as well, but they were soldiers not murderers so no matter HOW tempting that idea was to them, they knew better than to stoop to the level of terrorists.

That was when Duke quickly realized that Cover Girl and John were still in the building and there was a chance that in all the fighting, they were captured by Cobra or wounded. That same train of thought came to the other Joes in the battle field and they quickly moved in to see if they could reach the two and they naturally hoped that their comrade was all right along with the one that she had been sent to keep an eye on.

They moved through the building in a pace that was both hurried and cautious, moving quickly through the hallways while still keeping a wary eye out for possible Cobra ambushes in the hope that they were going to find the others before Cobra might get them out of the area and do who knows what to them while they were still on their way to their current location. They were not alone either as surviving members of the company's security forces were also coming along with them to help with clearing out anymore of the Cobra forces in the area as well as finding their boss and making sure that he was going to be all right. The last thing they wanted to happen was to find out that their boss was now taken by Cobra and being forced to do their bidding by any means necessary.

…

In the hallway…

The Baroness had no idea what she and her group were about to walk into as the Spartan continued to look at them, totally showing no sign of being intimated. She smiled and was about to make the move and have the man taken as their prisoner regardless of his threat. But that was a mistake…

Before she could even raise her eyebrows in surprise, the Spartan moved beyond her eye could see and grabbed her arm that was pointed at him, he quickly tossed her off her feet before she even react to his action and sent her slamming hard into one of the Cobra Troopers. Before the others could respond, the Spartan was already upon them like a predator.

One trooper barely got the chance to react when the Spartan landed a massive elbow strike into his chest, the sound of flesh being smashed was heard, along with the undeniably sickening sound of broken bones as the man's rib cage was crushed by the Spartan as he had struck right where all the ribs were.

Another trooper barely got the moment to raise her rifle when the Spartan lashed out with a powerful kick right to the head and snapped her neck on impact as her head was at a very odd and disturbing angle. The Trooper was at least given the pleasure of dying in a quick and painless fashion, minus the fact that before she died, she heard the sound of her bones being snapped easily like twigs.

The next Trooper managed to fire a single shot at the Spartan but that hardly stopped the Spartan as he was able to close the gap quickly and actually force the gun upward before the round left the barrel making the shot go wild into the roof of the building, he quickly broke the Trooper's left forearm like his bones were nothing more than dried up matchwood. The Trooper was barely able to recover and scream before the Spartan kicked at the knee shattering the bones easily and the Spartan quickly snapped the man's neck.

The Spartan turned and moved at high speed just as the Baroness managed to get to her feet, he grabbed her arm and quickly yanked her arm and the sound of her arm being dislocated at the shoulder, making her scream out in pain at the attack as the Spartan quickly took the weapon she had in her hand as it moved in shock to the sudden dislocation in a moment as he landed a shoulder charge into her to send her hard to a nearby wall while following with a light but fast back hand that cracked her glasses on impact..

He quickly moved in on his next target and aimed the gun right into the man's solar plexus and shot him full of holes while grabbing his weapon which was still in the trooper's hands and pulled it forward slightly allowing the grip of the Trooper to fire the weapon and kill the next Cobra Trooper that tried to recover. Both died instantly just as John quickly turned and now the situation was reversed as the Baroness was now surrounded by the now dead half dozen Cobra Troopers who were with her and now her own weapon was right in her face and in the hands of the Spartan.

John looked seriously at the Baroness and spoke.

"Looks like you know now what I was going to do; I guess the training I had as a kid paid off very well. So, who's the prisoner now?"

The Baroness coughed out several gouts of blood and cradled her obviously dislocated right arm and glared at the Spartan while her vision was distorted by her cracked glasses and the cut over her forehead. She was not going to forget the humiliation that she had just suffered under the hands of this man though she had to admit that she was VERY impressed by how easily he had turned the tables on her group. He had actually defeated them all without it even being less than a minute and a half when he attacked them.

She spoke then to the man.

"You…fight well Mr. Mendez, are you sure you don't want to consider working for Cobra instead of the Joes?"

"I was under the impression you were here to kidnap me Baroness, why the change of tactics?"

"You have such resources, you even have something that would qualify as a private army despite it's small size, and the technology you have is impressive. If you side with us…we can provide you with so much more."

The Spartan mentally snarled in anger at this without showing that said anger towards the Baroness and replied.

"After what you and your people have done, I don't think so, you are the aggressors here and I have no doubts in my mind that being terrorists you would use my company's technology for your own ends. No, I will NOT work for you and neither will my company."

The Baroness glared back in anger but she quickly smiled and moved her hand up her dislocated arm and opened a small pocket. The Spartan spotted that and was about to shoot the Baroness the very second she tried something that was undeniably hostile. Instead however, she removed what appeared to be some sort of card and pressed it. The Spartan quickly heard a high pitched squeal of some sort that was coming from the card. He saw it flash as the Baroness dropped it while closing her eyes and before he could react a powerful blast of light and sound came from the card like device merely nano-seconds later, catching even him by surprise as the Baroness spoke out to him in that moment.

"Too bad…I will remember this Mr. Mendez, and when Cobra rules the world, I will make sure that you and your company will serve us…one way or the other."

As soon as that happened, the Baroness quickly began to move away, the special device that she had just used was a little something that Destro had cooked up as a defensive tool for her and other agents, it resembled a small card but was touch activated and could easily unleash the same power as a flash bang grenade. The Baroness was affected by the sound pitch but she was able to focus herself and due to some special training as well as covertly taking a temporary medical pill to counter the effects of disorientation normally associated with flash bang grenades, she was able to force herself to escape to the hidden extraction point where Cobra forces who survived would leave the battle ground.

She was unaware of the fact that the Spartan was gifted with a very quick recovery factor due to his augmentations, superior genetic traits, experience in warfare, and more as he was quick to shake the light in his eyes and also get his orientation back on track as well as kill the pain in his ears.

The Spartan growled slightly as he watched the Baroness retreat, he knew that by all rights he should have killed her, however he knew also that doing so would have brought the wrath of Cobra on his people and that would have been asking for trouble already. Apart from that, the lack of gunfire told him that the Joes and his company's security forces no doubt had control of the grounds and he needed to help with the situation of dealing with the wounded and the dead. However, he recalled what she said before she moved away from the place and made a reply to the Baroness even though he knew that she would never hear it considering that he kept it mostly silent and to himself as well.

"Make no mistake; you and Cobra will never rule Earth or it's people, not on my watch."

With that settled the Spartan looked about to check the Cobra troopers he had just either killed or critically wounded, he made sure to check them all thoroughly as well. Once he was sure that none of them were going to be able to live or be saved, he dropped the weapon and checked on Cover Girl who's bonds he quickly and easily broke with only the use of his hands, she seemed to be slowly regaining consciousness just as Duke and the others along with a handful of security personnel were arriving into the building.

The Spartan mentally sighed in relief that they were now here and he could direct his attention to other matters. Had this been circumstances where there was no need for him to pretend to be someone he was not, the Spartan would have not wasted any time and gone after the Baroness and he would have made sure that she was not going get away as easily as she had just done earlier. But the Master Chief knew that he had to play along and pretend to be the CEO of a medical company.

He managed to help Cover Girl to her feet and got her to a nearby couch and quickly without any hesitation on his part, checked her head wound, it was a deep cut and bled but after feeling her skull gently with his hands and fingers, he was relieved that there were no fractures on her skull whatsoever as she spoke out as she began to regain her wits even more.

"Oh…that bastard snake is going to get it when I get my hands around his neck…"

He smiled slightly at that as he spoke.

"I don't think you'll get your chance, he's joining the others in the afterlife."

Courtney was surprised by that as she recovered enough to look at the dead Cobra Troopers who were being checked out by Duke and the others. She had no idea what happened as she had been unconscious at the time. She looked at the man who actually tore off a portion of his own suit to act as a make shift bandage for her while giving orders to his security personnel to clean up the place and bring him some medical supplies.

One of the security agents soon returned with some of the requested medical supplies and John helped tend to Courtney who braced herself for the pain, but found that the medical salve which was made by the company didn't hurt at all and actually numbed the pain of her cut and John then patched up her wound. Once he was done, he spoke to her.

"Are you feeling all right Cover Girl?"

"Yeah, and I am happy those guys are gone and not a threat anymore, still I am surprised that they are all dead."

"I guess, I need to see to my people."

…

Later…

The clean-up after the attack of Cobra was a long and difficult process for the Spartan as he saw to his people. A number of people had been injured in the attack and to the Spartan's sadness, ten of his Security personnel were fatally wounded and killed in action with Cobra, along with twenty others who were critically wounded and needed medical attention. They were not the only ones as a number of civilian workers were badly injured and two were killed in the attack. John was not happy and the fact that the Dreadnoks and their allies had caused a number of severe injuries as well as considerable property damage to Reach, he knew that he had a lot to do.

Dawson was not very happy as he was taken to the hospital for medical treatment, the pilot had been overseeing the maintenance of his boss's custom built transport which he was proud to have the honor of flying when he heard the warning of attack. He was quick to try and lock down the transport when he was caught between the battle of a pair of security personnel fighting the Cobra team that came into the area and tried to take the vehicle. He managed to hide but was soon found as the Cobra forces killed one of them and forced him to reveal himself by threatening to kill the other security member, he did so and watched in shock and anger as they killed the man anyway and then injured him while taking the vehicle, he tried to fight back but was shot non fatally for his actions as the Falcon was taken away and taken over by Cobra with the aid of some of their own choppers.

He was soon found by some of the security personnel and received first aid to keep him alive until help arrived.

He looked up to John and spoke out to his boss.

"I'm sorry Mr. Mendez…"

"You don't need to say sorry to me, get some rest and recover, and don't worry, I'll make sure you get full rehabilitation as well as having the hospital bill paid in full, you'll also get full retirement benefits if you decide to leave, I'll have a new vehicle made and find a good enough pilot to take over.

Dawson shook his head and replied to that.

"I'm not planning to retire Mr. Mendez, you're doing a lot for me already, so I have no desire to leave your employment, besides, no one else is qualified to fly your custom craft but me."

"All right then, good luck and rest up."

"Yes Mr. Mendez."

John also went to the homes of the slain security personnel to personally offer his condolences to their families if they had wives and children. He made it clear that he would personally oversee all expenses for them and also ensure that the widows and children would get full benefits and compensation for what had happened. To those who were wounded, he went to their families as well and assured the families that he will personally oversee to the physical recovery and if needed, rehabilitation of their spouses who were injured in the line of duty and needed to recover, and he did likewise for those civilian workers who were wounded and those two who were killed in the attack launched on them by Cobra. As for the damages done to the company building and to Reach, he had every intention to pay for the rebuilding of the damaged mall rooms as well as the building itself.

Many of the families of the wounded and killed were given a measure of relief and closure as they could see that the Spartan was dead serious about doing those things for their families and that actually helped improve his relationships with the people who now settled on Reach and he also made sure that as soon as possible a highly trained and well paid and equipped SWAT team would soon be operational for the Police Department so to avoid such situations like this from ever happening again.

It would take weeks or at least a month or more before the damages done to Reach and the company could be fixed and the people who suffered were able to go back and live normal lives again, but it could be done. It was a week after funeral services were held for those who were killed that John asked the people if they wished to remain here in Reach after what happened. He was told that they would stay here as it was their home and they have a lot that needed to be done.

John and Cortana focused all of their efforts in helping to clean up the mess there and it was a good thing that the Joes came to help with the efforts. General hawk himself was there to offer the support of the Joes in helping get the company and the town back on their feet after the attack of Cobra. The Dreadnoks were no longer around as they had been ordered by Zartan to fall back in a fighting retreat once the Baroness contacted him and told him to pull out the rest of his group…but not before they and the Cobra Troopers in disguise with them caused as much damage and injuries as they could.

This added even more problems for John as he personally oversaw the rebuilding of these locations as well as paying for the medical expenses of the people who lived in the town and had been injured in the decoy attack made by the Dreadnoks. As he surveyed the damage done to the town, John made a mental note to track down the Dreadnoks and give them hell in his own fashion for their raising hell in his own place.

But that was for another time as he had many things that needed to be taken care of…

In most of the time that Cortana had told him was needed in order to get the town and the company back on track, the company building was rebuilt and refurbished, a lot of damaged portions were either rebuilt or torn down and reconstructed from the ground up. And the places that once belonged to the security personnel were soon filled up, though John and Cortana made every effort to screen the new replacements to counter any possible threat of Cobra trying another attempt to steal information or spy on the company.

The same security measures were also used on the civilian workers and agents there and soon a new Falcon had to be built and utilized to replace the one stolen by Cobra. In that situation, in a show of good faith and the fact that the Joes had also risked their lives to help his company and his people, John decided to give them a copy of the Falcon's construction and design plans to make their own version of the Falcon for more military focused applications. Naturally the Joes were unaware of the fact that the Falcon was actually a military vehicle to begin with, John made sure to not mention those details for any reason accidentally when handing them the plans, already assured that they would eventually find out their own possible uses for it when they designed for their own personal use.

In the mean time he focused on getting his company back on track as well as dealing with Public Relations, yet another bane to his existence in his mind as playing the publicist was not something he looked forward to. This required him to show his face more often than he cared to like, not to mention that he was now plastering his face all over the media. This was a gross violation of the Spartan II Program in every sense of the word. Even though their Program was eventually made public to the UNSC to boost morale in the war with the Covenant, Spartans NEVER revealed themselves unless needed to the public.

He was hardly people shy, but it galled him either way as there were a myriad of questions that were asked to him about what his company was going to do after the attack by Cobra. He and several other chosen representatives of the company had to help deal with a number of things that ranged from the attack to his plans for the company in the future. Other questions directed to him by the media included one topic that nearly made him slap his forehead in public television.

Was he married and if not, was he planning to marry?

The idea was so surprising to the Spartan that it took him at least second or two to reply that he was not married and with so many things to take care of for the company and the people under him that he didn't have the time to look for a partner. This was one thing that the Spartan had no interest in indulging for any reason since looking for a wife or girlfriend was not exactly on his priority list for the time being. The question reminded him of the time he was back in New Mombasa and was fighting with a number of Marines and had the idea of them moving through an open area to a number of functional Warthogs to rally with other Marine Elements in the city.

Needless to say the Marine force he was with were not all that happy with the idea since there were Jackal snipers in the area. He knew that they would object, but one UNSC Marine, a female Corporal named Palmer actually had the audacity to state her dislike of the plan in a fashion that made even him raise his eyebrows in utter surprise.

"Chief, I believe that I can honestly say that even though you are an honest-to-Buddha one-man death squad, and that if you were to ask nicely I'd give up my lucrative career in the Corps and start pumping out your babies just as fast as you could put them in me, there is no way I am gonna run across fifty goddamn meters of open terrain covered by three Jackal snipers that I can see just to jump into an open vehicle. Throwing myself on a goddamn grenade makes more sense than that."

John knew that some female Marines were a lot more forward when it came to what they had in mind and there was more than one occasion when some female Marines would comment in suggestive ways when he would look at them though in truth he had been deep in thought at those exact moments. He didn't let that get to him since they were at war at the time, but now that he thought about it, it was always something of a mystery why that happened. He was not a complete novice when it came to male and female attraction.

But the idea of him being married was totally foreign and outright incredulous to him.

Granted his fellow Spartan II Maria-062 was married even though she was supposed to be working with ONI when he got back to Earth. If it was true, then he had to admit that the man who was willing to marry a Spartan II Commando had some serious guts considering what Maria was capable of when she got riled. Still, the idea of being intimate with a woman was something that John didn't exactly have time to think about so he pretty much ignored it for now, besides, considering the kind of life he lived, the last thing he wanted was to have a wife who might either think he was killed in action or was having an affair. It was hardly something that he should have concerned himself with, but he had heard the stories of the spouses of UNSC personnel either divorcing their partners or finding solace with others due to long distance and the fact that news traveled rather slow in the UNSC.

It was not long however that John had to attend a convention that would allow his company to have more exposure to the public. It was not something he looked forward to, but his company's successes had required him to take a more active role in promoting the products and services. Plus Cortana convinced him that this would keep his image as a CEO of a company, it would raise questions why he never socialized with those who were his…'peers' in the business world and that was something they needed to avoid.

John now found something else that he was developing a dislike for apart from paper-work.

…

In the national hall in Washington D.C…

The disguised Joes were not very happy with having to dress up like this since they were soldiers first and foremost and this was not what they liked doing. But it was needed after all the number of people who were here and all of them happened to be high ranking leaders in a number of business and economic sectors in the country and some from abroad so they had to be protected. Duke and Scarlett were there as well as Flint and Lady Jaye, along with Jinx, Quick Kick, Road Block, as well as Jane. The Joes were all dressed well for the occasion and therefore were able to blend in well enough though it was obvious that they were not very comfortable with the idea of being here.

Duke spoke out first while checking his watch with a sight which was easily noted by Scarlett who smiled a bit as Duke who was her date for this mission and she was dressed in a simple yet attractive dress that matched both her code name and hair color.

"I hope that we don't have to stay here any longer, the sooner I get out of this monkey suit, the better off I will be."

The red haired woman smiled at that and replied.

"Don't say that, it's not often I get to see you out of uniform, besides, at least they made the suit for you specifically."

"I guess, at least it's not that tight, but the last time I work a suit was way back in high school, so far back I don't even recall when I even bought it."

"Well, let's just be happy that Cobra's finally taken the hint to stay in wherever their latest cesspit is."

It was not long before they were joined by their fellow Joes and Jaye was enjoying herself a bit while Flint was in the same boat as Duke, he was eager to go back into the

The female Joes smirked a bit as John walked over to them and greeted them in a very respectful manner. The guy looked a bit out of place for some reason, but he was certainly fitting in well enough as he was dressed in a well made tuxedo that was well suited for the occasion. The male Joes also smiled and in greeting as Duke spoke to the Spartan.

"It's good to see that you've managed to arrive safe."

"Nice to see you as well."

Flint then noted something and spoke to the Spartan.

"No offense meant Mr. Mendez, but you seem to be alone."

The Spartan nodded a bit and replied.

"I noticed that, I actually had to deal with other matters that had to be settled first before I came here so I had not time to ask if there was someone willing to accompany me."

Cover Girl smiled a bit at that and decided to join the Spartan in this occasion as his partner, it was not wrong in her mind and besides, she had grown to respect the man before her as he had willingly fought Cobra even though he was unarmed and actually won, and he had personally helped patch her up after that Cobra Trooper wounded her on the back of the head. She owed him and being in a situation that did not involve being shot at with live rounds was certainly welcome.

"I'll take care of that part if you want to Mr. Mendez, I still owe you for helping patch me up after that battle in your company a week and half ago."

The other Joes looked at Cover Girl and the female Joes were amused by this a great deal as they could see that Cover Girl was dead serious about doing this with John Mendez, the other Joes didn't seem to mind in the least and Duke made that sentiment very clear as he spoke to the two of them.

"Fair enough, besides, Cover Girl doesn't have a partner here at the moment."

Cover Girl smiled and joined John as they moved around the room to get themselves better acquainted with the social gathering rules and etiquette. John himself felt very annoyed by all this even though he managed to not to let his annoyance show outward. After all, socializing was not a strong point of his, even more so in a situation like this one. However, he was able to adapt as par his training, plus he didn't want to cause a ruckus here since this would help keep his civilian identity covered. He looked at Courtney and got to see that she was proverbially dressed for the occasion.

She wore what appeared to be a deep blue dress with a halter style top upper portion with the sides open to show her toned sides up to the top of her hips and the dress was well made and suited to her height and frame.

As much as Courtney wanted to distance herself from her previous images as a super model, her previous experiences did come in handy every now and then. And this was certainly worth it, even though it was only going to be for a night, she used her old contacts in the fashion world to get dresses for her and the other female Joes that matched their height and form perfectly. And at least she was finally able to convince her fellow female Joes to actually wear makeup and not for disguising themselves either.

As the two of them were moving about and meeting a number of people who commented on their arrival, John noted a number of men, both young and old were currently giving the former blonde supermodel and Joe very intense looks and the Spartan had a very accurate idea on what exactly was going through the minds of the men who were looking at Courtney, none of which were pure by any standard.

He didn't know why but after seeing Cover Girl fight and seeing her show great skill and courage under fire, the Spartan felt a level of anger in him as he glared darkly at the men. To him, it was a warning that they should behave, to the men they saw the Spartan's look as him saying that Courtney was off limits to them.

As for the lady in question, she was well aware of the stares she got from the men in the party, after all, she got her fair share of those looks as a model before joining the Joes. That was another reason that she left the modeling business, most men only saw her as an object and a woman who they would want nothing more than have as either a trophy wife as well as other things, and while there were fellow female models who got lucky and had good men as their boyfriends or husbands, there were others who were not so lucky. She wanted to prove that she was not some simple pretty face and someone to look down on just because she was a model. She then noted the look that John gave the men and she spoke to him.

"Thanks for trying to be a gentleman Mr. Mendez, but I can take care of myself."

"I know, but I think you would be able to relax more if you're not being bothered by them."

Courtney chuckled a bit at that and replied.

"All right, consider it as a way for you to pay me back for the things that happened back there in your company. Anyway, let's just enjoy our time together, though I hope you know how to dance after we have some of the food here, the good news is the hosts at least hired good chefs for this party."

While this was going on, John had a feeling that Cobra was far from idle…

…

In one of their hidden bases…

Cobra Commander looked at the information they had acquired from the captured transport that their forces had taken from the company of Halsey Pharmaceuticals while he also had to deal with the fact that despite their accomplishment of their secondary objective, the assault team had failed to get the prize. And that was the medical technology that was there in the database core of the company owned by Mr. Mendez. It was a serious loss for them as well as the number of soldiers that they lost as well as the tanks.

The Baroness was currently recovering from her ordeal and it had shocked practically all of the senior leaders of Cobra, even him, that the man that they tried to capture was the one that had given her such injuries. They had thought that no one, namely a person who was a civilian was able to do this kind of damage and actually kill a half dozen Cobra troopers, granted the troopers were not exactly ideal soldiers, but even they should have been able to handle one civilian.

Destro was livid at the way the Baroness had been treated by Mendez and he vowed to have his revenge on the man. Cobra Commander however shot down that idea very quickly and reminded the man that the Baroness was alive and with them and that is al that matters. That was enough to calm Destro for the moment as they began to work on a brand new project as soon as they were done analyzing potential uses for this vehicle in their arsenals.

Destro had been pushing for the creation of a new and more flexible fighting force within the Cobra trooper ranks, something of their own Special Forces unit that operated under the same capacity as the Snow Vipers, the Crimson Guard, and the Eels.

This plan was mothballed for a number of reasons, one being that most of the other leaders thought that since the Cobra Troopers were seen to be more effective as cannon fodder, they should not spend resources to further train them. Next was that it was expensive to build new equipment and weapons and fielding that kind of technology to soldiers who were usually seen as expendable was a waste of time and effort. The next was that there were too many Cobra troopers already and as such, using new weapons and equipment to them would have taken too much time and effort in logistics and supply

Destro argued that no matter how many Cobra Trooper recruits they had , they were not cost effective, they were cheap to train as they relied mostly on numbers and firepower, but with the vast majority of their forces comprising of Cobra Troopers and their Special Forces organizations nowhere near the numbers needed to conduct full scale operations, they were at a severe situation which had cost them dearly time and time again. And with the arrival of this undeniably independent force known as the Spartan Company, they needed to begin improving their forces so their plans for world domination would have a higher level of success.

Cobra Commander nodded a bit and Storm Shadow offered his support of the idea as well. This was enough to convince the other leaders to begin plans to train a new generation of Cobra soldiers, who were given the code name Cobra Vipers. Destro had been working on a new set of ceramic based combat armor as well as integrated communications systems; sensory equipment, temperature regulation systems and several other new combat infantry oriented technology and saw that this would be useful indeed in the new Viper group.

The arms dealer also studied the videos of the Spartan Company that he recorded, he doubted that he could create an actual working copy the Spartan Company leader's personnel shield system since such technology was very much theoretical and even though Cobra had made great strides in technology…they didn't have either the resources and knowhow to make portable shield systems, let alone human sized ones.

He knew the theories as he had been one of the best in his studies as a youth, but even if they got a working shield system online, it was only going to be feasible if they were able to give it a self sustaining power supply as well as make specialized equipment for it as well as figuring out how to shape energy to form shields. It was possible, yet the technology simply didn't exist and the cost of even powering a fully functional energy shield was astronomical and would literally eat money like a ravenous shark..

This was why Destro decided to start his own plan to get his hands on the Armor of this leader of Spartan Company, with it, and if he could crack open its inner workings, personnel shielding was going to be a major possibility. For now however, he had to begin working on how the new forces were going to be created as well as trained. He had a lot of work to do and with Spartan Company and the Joes busy with other things, and their bases not under attack by the other forces that were part of the former group, they could at least for the time being operate in peace while Cobra Commander ordered a full overhaul of all systems to prevent more leaks.

…

In John and Cortana's primary base in the Alaskan Mountain Range a week later…

Unknown to the Joes and to Cobra in particular, the Master Chief was not going to let the attack of the latter on the people he was taking care of go unpunished. Ever since he started Reach and the Company named after his 'mother' Dr. Catherine Halsey, the Spartan had developed a sense of trust and allegiance to the people there. He had every intention to make sure that when he did leave, he would make sure that they were all going to be in very good hands and be able to live free and well when he finally made the move to leave and possibly return to his own dimension.

But this attack on them by Cobra was something he had no intention of ever letting go, they had no idea who he was in his civilian disguise, nor did they have any idea that he was the one who had been attacking them lately. But now they had made the mistake of gaining his ire and enraging him directly in his own back yard.

One thing was clear about most if not all of the Spartans, they kept their emotions controlled befitting their lives as covert ops super soldiers, so it took a lot to earn their anger. But when their anger was aroused…nothing even in the multitudes of the Covenant Empire was enough to match the fury that a Spartan could show in battle. They would quickly live up to the name of Demon that the Covenant would give them once they were enraged.

In his previous attacks, he had kept his emotions controlled and very much out of the equation, but now he was going to let a portion of his emotions into the battle, chief of them was his anger at the way Cobra had harmed the people under his charge. He was going to make sure that his next attack was going to send a message to the Cobra organization that was going to shake them to the very core of their being.

If there was one thing that John knew to be true, to kill a snake, take out the head. He was not going to kill the leaders of Cobra however, not at the moment since there was no doubt that it was going to cause some serious repercussions, instead of outright death he going to send a message to the leaders of Cobra that he was going to be on the prowl this time around and they were not safe no matter where they were or chose to hide or no matter how many warm bodies they put in his way.

One mistake they made was the fact that they were not aware that he and Cortana had installed a special UNSC NAV Transmitter Marker in the Falcon and since it was the size of a tick and colored in the same metal scheme, it was near impossible to track down by traditional means and since Cortana could track that down with little to no problem, there was little chance that Cobra's base where it was located and stored was going to remain a secret for long from him and the UNSC A.I.

The A.I appeared and spoke to him as she too was well aware of his plan and she actually was more than willing to go along as the attack on Reach had made her ready to pay Cobra back for their actions on the people of the town.

"Are you ready for tracking down where they took the Falcon John?"

John nodded as Cortana began to fill him in on what she had been able to gather on the current bases of Cobra as well as the soon to be revealed location of the Falcon that got stolen from his company, and soon located the location and after checking the data, the A.I grinned as the base in question was one of the most promising bases that Cobra owned. This base was a critical area for new weapons and armor development research for the organization and also happened to be housing a vast amount of critical research and development data. There was no doubt that they had another base that did the same thing as this one did, but this base was receiving a lot of new data recently and as such was a more promising target for the retribution they had in mind for Cobra.

This was what Cortana was able to gather and this was going to be the best way to hit Cobra, even more so as a vast number of Cobra's best officers from their various branches were going to be there, along with the critical leaders of Cobra, namely Destro himself, The Baroness, Scrap Iron, Major Bludd, Tomax, and Xamot, and Cobra Commander as well. Killing the lesser officers while their leaders were there was going to show to the Cobra forces and their leaders in particular, that no matter how well defended they were, they were still very much targets in the open to the Spartan.

The attack was going to really send a message and while he would have wanted to take them out permanently, this was going to come a good second to the more violent and messy method and could have more deadly effects overall on Cobra

As soon as he was done, he placed on a new MJOLNIR Mark VI helmet which was shaped like that of a Greek, Roman or ancient Spartan helmet with the visor being shaped like a T and having face guards as well as extra ballistic shield system for better protection, and after the helmet's systems checked out all right, he took out his weapons for the day, and this time it was going to be a combination of his usual run and gun attacks and some stealthy covert ops assassination work. This was proven true as instead of his trademark SRS99D AM S2 AM Sniper Rifle, John was taking out two new weapon systems to bring to bear on Cobra.

The first was one of the Model 99 Special Application Scope Rifle also know as the M99 Stanchion or the Gauss Rifle. This monster of a weapon was retired in the year 2521 and therefore never saw use in the hands of the UNSC against the Covenant but was a devastating to any target, hard or soft at a full 15,000 meters. He and Cortana had managed to build one working model years before and got it working perfectly and soon this was going to be it's first mission. This weapon was going to be very useful in giving the Cobra forces something even more

The next was the ONI Hard Sound Rifle; this weapon was a special applications sniper rifle that only saw use in the hands of ONI assassins who were tasked to eliminate political leaders and other personnel who were seen as threats by ONI. Since this was a weapon that used Sonic waves as the ammunition instead of solid rounds, it could kill it's targets without any powder burns, residue, and external damage to be used in forensics. This was the most dangerous sniper rifle in existence in any universe in the Spartan's mind as since it could kill without leaving a trace.

As he looked at both of the weapons, he was very much tempted to use these to kill all of the Cobra leadership, but that would defeat the purpose of his message to the Cobra organization, and that was something he was not keen on letting happen while on his watch.

As he readied both weapons, he decided to put some new weapons into good use. It was going to be expensive but it was going to be worth every moment of it to send a clear message of fear into Cobra, and nothing was more terrifying in his mind that some new weapons that none of them had seen before. The kid gloves were off this time around as far as he was concerned as he now planned to use some weapons that he had been able to take with him before he came here. One such weapon system were a pair of Covenant Energy Swords, These were going to be hard to come be or re-charge but he was going to find a way soon enough and these were devastating psychological weapons as well.

He had seen UNSC Marines, even battle hardened ones gulp in fear as well as have their eyes widen and their faces turn pale when the familiar hiss of ignited plasma came from these swords. And he had been in the receiving end of these weapons more than once in his career so he had a very healthy respect for the Energy Sword despite the fact it was mostly used in close range. He had no idea how Cobra troopers would take these weapons, but it was a surefire bet that once they saw these weapons in action, they were really going to be afraid for sure.

The next and last weapon systems he was going to be taking along were a pair of Type 25 Covenant Carbines, or known to all as the Spike Rifle or Spiker. This was a deadly weapon employed the Brutes when they took over the place once held by the Sangheili before the truth of the Halo Rings was finally revealed to the Elite. These weapons were hardly ideal for medium and long range combat, but in close range, they were deadly on their own and the wounds they inflicted on their foes were horrifying. Truth be told he was not keen on shooting human beings with such brutal aliens weapons, but for the Cobra's attack on Reach and killing a number of his people he was more than willing to make an exception. Once they were used in close combat, they added further fear in the enemy as the blades were more than able to cut through flesh and light infantry body armor. He knew that to be true since he had seen them in action himself more than once and respected their primitive yet undeniably nasty weapons.

No doubt that when Cobra got to see these weapons in action, this was really going make things for them a real nightmare when they tried to attack him in retaliation.

These weapons had been found before by him and Cortana but were not used since finding ammunition and power for them was not exactly easy to do and they hardly had a lot of time finding alternative sources. But if he was going to send his message and inflict some serious losses to Cobra, these weapon systems along with his trademark MA5C and the two Sniper Weapon Systems were going to be more than adequate for his needs and his plans.

As soon as he was done loading the weapons into the containers for transport, John looked once more at the location of the base. It was located in the desert of Mexico and was hidden deep there in a mountain range that the natives called as the Snake's Den…pretty accurate description in his mind as he got himself set and ready to take the fight to Cobra itself.

There was one thing that clear to the Spartan was then as soon as he arrived, there was going to be hell for the leaders of Cobra.

…

Later in the Mexican desert…

As soon as the stealth armed Pelican landed on the ground several hours after keeping itself from being detected by any radar and detection system in the area. The Spartan moved out as the Photo-reactive panels now hid the Pelican and to add more stealth to it was the fact that the Spartan guided the Pelican into a canyon area that also led to the valley. As soon as he gathered all his gear, he got out and headed to the direction of the now revealed NAV marker.

John moved through the land, tracking the signal coming from the Falcon's hidden NAV marker as he carried both weapons in their cases with one on his back while the other was in his hand while he held his Assault Rifle in one hand. The weapon was armed with a Silencer and also a 40mm Grenade Launcher as the Spartan carried a fully stocked rucksack with spare ammunition and supplies as well as a series of small power cells for both the Gauss Rifle and the Hard Sound Rifle.

After a few minutes of moving in and out through the Mexican desert, the Spartan stopped as he was alerted by Cortana of Cobra signals coming in a few meters ahead of him. As soon as he was in range, he spotted what appeared to be a H.I.S.S Tank as well as several Cobra Troopers there in the area. He decided to see if he could be able to use this to his advantage. He took out the Hard Sound Rifle and powered it up.

However he didn't take the shot as he closed the distance, leaving the Gauss Rifle alone for the moment in it's carrying case. The cases were loaded with passive camouflage to avoid being seen and his Hard Sound Rifle was perfectly camouflaged as well. As soon as he was sure he was close enough, he activated the audio scanners of the MJOLNIR and focused on the Cobra Troopers and their commanding officer.

"Cortana, can you get some samples of their speech patterns?"

"Got it…give me a few minutes."

John nodded while aiming his Hard Sound Rifle at the targets who he had no trouble seeing due to the systems in his MJOLNIR as well as his augmented vision. As soon as he was told by Cortana that she was done synthesizing the voice of the Cobra Trooper officer, he aimed at one trooper who was answering the call of nature.

Which was going to be last call he was ever going to take as he was shot in the back by the Hard Sound Rifle that made no sound whatsoever as the sound 'bullet' hit his back rupturing his blood vessels, ruptured his organs and reduced them to jelly through massive sonic damage. The man dropped dead, and soon the Spartan unleashed several more sound 'bullets' killing the others and he moved in to secure the H.I.S.S and hack the communications network just as a call came in.

"Copperhead 09, do you copy over?"

"This is Copperhead 09, go ahead?"

"Cameron, you and the guys better not be slacking off again, the top brass are on the way here today in a few hours, and if major Bludd' with them, then they'll have your ass for breakfast tomorrow if you don't show up soon."

"I've got work to do, they can demote me later."

"Hah! Fair enough, can't say I didn't warn you, Command out."

John turned off the communications, Cortana had replicated Cameron's tone and pitch as well as voice quality perfectly. This allowed him to also access the communications protocols easily and give him a good deal of information from the ground as he quickly got out of the H.I.S.S tank and moved on after retrieving his Gauss Rifle carrying case.

It was not long before he spotted the base itself, built into a large section of the mountain and spotted a large number of machines there and there were the same towers that had been there in the base he had trashed years before in South America. He felt a slight sense of déjà vu and waited to see what would happen next. He didn't have to wait for too long as he spotted a massive plane appear. It soon began to land on the air-strip and move into the massive hanger that appeared in front of the runway.

The Spartan took out the Gauss Rifle and took out the computer cable and clipped into a receiving end in his MJOLNIR's helmet allowing Cortana to act as the spotter for him so he won't have to rely on the computer that normally was used by a human spotter to help his or her partner who was armed with the Gauss Rifle, John could handle that part just fine, but he trusted Cortana's aid in this mission.

"You connected Cortana?"

"Like two peas in a pod as you humans say…all right, let's go see if that's a VIP plane, or a supply plane."

The Spartan did just that and the two were rewarded by the visual information that confirmed that the plane was the former.

"There's Destro, and comforting the Baroness who no doubt is still hurting like hell after that battle in the company, Major Bludd, Tomax and Xamot, Scrap Iron, and the big snake himself. Looks like the snake's den is filled with the big snakes this time around, all of them in one place and only one way to go if we do this right. Time to get to work John, it's time to scare these snakes out of they're skin."

John nodded as he took his first shot with the Gauss Rifle for the day, relying on the fact that there was now an approaching weather front that was no doubt going to work to his advantage for this night.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Not too long and not too short, hope that this will be enough to show to all the readers here right now that this story is going to be active for a while longer before I redirect my attention to several other stories that need updates after being silent for so long now. In this chapter, we get to see the results of the theft of John and Cortana's custom built transport based on the UNSC Falcon.

As to what will be the results of John's counter strike on Cobra? That will be seen in the next chapter and you can bet that the forces of Cobra are not going to forget what they are about to dragged into by the Spartan. And we now know that the results of the actions of both the UNSC super soldier and the A.I have forced Cobra to revamp their arsenal as well as train a far more capable fighting force to combat the Joes and this new force that has been attacking them.

This does not mean however that I am going to give them energy shields, since that's asking for too much. They will have a new section of soldiers along with some new weapons and armor, but like all the rules governing Special Forces units, these things will be very expensive and so only crack members of Cobra's soldiery get to use them…so next these guys might actually be a challenge to the Chief and the Joes.

It was brought to my attention that the cartoons usually portrayed Cobra forces as incompetent in a number of situations and being a global organization of terrorists, the last thing that a force like that wants to be known for is incompetence, so I will take some plans from both the comics and the movie which DOES show Cobra to be a lot more competent and skilled than in the cartoons. So this time we are going to actually have a threat to fight with before the Brutes show up as well as the forces that they still have with them after the war over the Ark and the death of Truth. You can bet that this will happen much later in the future so don't expect the Brutes to suddenly show up at the wrong time and the wrong place in this story.

See you in the next chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

G. I Joe Halo

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the series of this story so don't ask me if I do.

Chapter 9

Part 1

Spartan's Wrath

( ): Thoughts

…

In the Mexican Desert…

The crew who were busy working on the transport plane that brought the Cobra leadership into the new base had no idea that the thunderclap that they had just ignored had served to muffle the sound of the small explosion that followed the attack of the Spartan. The Gauss Rifle round managed to punch through the armored skin of the transport plane and had caused a considerable amount of damage as it also punched right through the engine block and burying itself deeply into the tarmac.

The crew were soon put down by weapons fire, but not the kind they were familiar with as the Spartan aimed his Hard Sound Rifle at them. Once they were down, the Spartan quickly moved out and soon approached the walled area that was separating the air field from the rest of the world. He scanned the wars and soon picked up several scanners in the base of the walls, and he also began to detect the telltale signs of mines. The Spartan moved closer to the mines and began to gently examine the mines. They turned out to be the Bouncing Betty variety, a special type of mine that fired out a canister filled with high explosives as well as a large number of deadly projectiles that would be more than enough to kill or maim.

There were also a number of other mines, namely those strong enough to rip through tank armor and plating. Apparently the Cobra forces were a lot more serious about security this time around and both he and Cortana had to give them credit for the traps. However they were not going to be easily discouraged as the Spartan moved around the walls.

He then managed to hide as he spotted a H.I.S.S Tank coming in the area, but he was quick to develop an idea as he quickly took out his Gauss Rifle and fired several shots in rapid succession into the enemy before him and killed the driver and the gunner before they could even realize that they were under attack. The Gauss Rifle rounds had no problem tearing through the H.I.S.S Tank and through the people in question and they were all torn apart before they could respond in any possible fashion. As soon as that was done, the Spartan moved in and took control of the Tank and accessed it's systems by pulling out a connection plug from the MJOLNIR and accessed the H.I.S.S tank and took command of it as he moved the tank through the areas of the mine field that were open by using his scanners. Once he was close enough, the Spartan moved out and carried both rifles in hand as he leaped over the wall and landed into an open area behind some crates, this however alerted some patrolling Cobra Troopers and their officer, the Cobra troopers moved ahead while the officer was about to report, but before he could do anything with his communication systems, he was killed by something that smashed into him and he looked down to see…nothing.

But before he dropped dead, he suddenly was grabbed and dragged into the shadows and soon before he felt death claim him, he spotted his soldiers dead before him, killed by…something yet no blood, no wounds at all. He saw only his face looking back at him on a solid golden visor before he died.

John showed no reaction but he was lucky that he was able to shoot the Troopers dead before shooting the Crimson Guard Officer before he could warn the others about his attack. He moved quickly and grabbed the officer by the neck front and dragged him into the shadows, and once he was sure that they were all dead, he made sure to hide their bodies, while checking to see if there was anything he could use as a spare weapon. He found a number of grenades and took those as well.

Once he was done, he made use of the explosives and made a special bomb with them, which he had been able to set with a timer courtesy of a watch with some electrical wire to serve as a igniter for the fuse of the grenades, he set the watch to ring at exactly thirty minutes, more than enough time to start a hell of a battle in the base. He looked for another set of explosives and spotted some nearby missile crates covered in water proof camouflage tarp, no doubt used as munitions for some of the vehicles in the base itself, more than enough as he began to move them into a series of more useful positions with the bomb below them but not before breaking open some of the casings by hacking the locks with Cortana's help and then hacking into the missiles and bypassing their safety locks allowing them to be fired instantly and be armed.

Once that was done, the Spartan moved through the place and soon spotted a nearby reinforced security shed which he discovered was some storage shed for spare replacement parts. He moved in and soon spotted some guards but he also spotted some nearby cord from a container which he easily ripped off and he waited for one other guards to leave, and he quickly moved in and strangled one of the guards while taking out the woman's knife and tossed it right into the face of the other guard who turned around.

At the same time he quickly broke the neck of the female Cobra Trooper and soon took her into the shadows and the same with the guard who he had skewered with the knife. He then managed to find a key card on the female guard's person. He used it on the door of the shed and dragged both bodies in and managed to do so without attracting any attention so far. As soon as both bodies were in the shed, he scanned the area and grabbed a nearby set of cleaning items and washed off the spots of blood to hide his tracks. He then searched the two to get some more explosives and after locking the shed down he moved to see what he could use.

He soon found a terminal and allowed Cortana to access it by touching it and allowing his A.I companion to make her way into the system.

It was not long before Cortana reported in to him once she got back into the MJOLNIR.

"Cobra's security network's been upgraded, about time too."

"Care to translate?"

"They've increased their fire wall protection and have been using some brand new detection software into the database cores. They also seem to have made several stand alone systems as well to keep several areas of the base isolated. The only way for me to get full access to the base is in what I can see is the central command hub in the base itself. The terminal here connects only to one of the stand alone security centers."

John nodded as he moved to rest of the room…it had plenty of spare parts and other things one associated with a motor pool, making sense since they were near the air field of all things. He then spotted a number of drums that soon showed themselves to be fuel drums, all highly flammable and John was quick to plan something out as he spotted some nearby wiring.

The Spartan wasted no time and took out one of the Energy Swords and ignited it to cut open some of the cable wire insulated gently. As soon as he was done, he placed the weapon aside and tore out a good deal of sparking wires. He moved them into what was an ideal channel in the floor and soon took the knife out of the dead Trooper's face. Without bothering to look at the man who's face he had just skewered with said knife, the Spartan used his strength to punch holes into the drums, not too large though, just enough to make the fuel leak out at a certain rate.

He also used the knife to cut grooves into the floor to pool over the liquid fuel and act as a timer which was at least an hour's worth or so to buy him time as he positioned the still sparking wires to the ground to ignite the now approaching fuel.

As soon as that was done, he left the shed and crushed the card into nothing but slivers of plastic but not before taking the magnetic tape strip that he might find a use for later. He moved out into another part of the base, but not before hiding his Gauss Rifle and the Hard Sound Rifle from sight in several simple containers that he tagged with NAV Markers to locate them quickly if he was going to evacuate from the area.

Moving through the base was hardly easy as John and Cortana saw that the Cobra forces had been upgrading their security network with motion sensors, a number of guard dogs, several B. on patrol, turrets armed with weapon systems, trap rooms, as well as triple layers of Trooper Squads moving in patrol, with each squad numbering eight and a pair of Crimson Guard Officers leading them. It seemed that security for this base was tight and that was understandable, considering just what was being done in a base this size after all. It was nowhere near the security standards of the Insurrection or the Covenant, but by any standard, it was impressive. Cortana was more than willing to point that fact out to John as they moved out.

"I have to admit that they have really amped up their security measures this time around."

"I know, any luck locating the Falcon yet?"

"Yeah, its located a number of rooms from our location and three floors down from what I am reading so far. I do have some of the floor plans but we do need to be careful, apparently they have been tightening security around here before we ever came here into their territory so any attack would have to be silent for now."

John mentally nodded as he was carrying his MA5C Assault rifle, he had no silencer on this weapon so he would have to make most of his assassination attacks with his bare hands as he began to eliminate stragglers who were not on patrol while also avoiding alerting anyone. The dogs were his biggest concern as despite them not being able to smell him due to the MJOLNIR, they would be easily able to smell the blood so he reframed from using bloody methods and resorted only to lethal yet quick attacks that broke bones but spilled no blood.

He also managed to do his killings in areas that were not easy to spot and hide the bodies quickly, however, he had no doubts in his mind that he was going to be found out soon enough so he was going to have to make it quick before the dog patrols would be in the area. It was not long before several guard dogs were soon able to sense something was wrong and were making their way through the base, thankfully none of the dogs had smelled blood in the air since the Spartan was able to kill his targets without spilling blood and hiding the bodies as best he could. They were however becoming a problem that John and Cortana knew they would have to be careful about. It was then that Cortana had an idea and spoke to the Spartan.

"John, I have an idea that might make those dogs go away."

"Go ahead."

"You know that dogs hear at a certain frequency right?"

"Yes, what's the point there?"

"I have found out earlier that Cobra had used some sort of acoustic device that is made to control animals. They got rid of the technology and threw it away after the man who made it was rotting in prison. The schematics however were still there though it's been left alone. I managed to get enough information to understand how it worked. This will have those dogs work for us for a while, as I can also give commands to them as well using the sounds."

John decided he had nothing left to lose and did what Cortana asked of him, which naturally included going to a nearby security room and quickly taking out the Cobra soldiers there as well as the Officers. John had no problem in doing so as he was quickly a blur and overpowered many of them and soon a chorus of broken bones was all over the place. Once he had dealt with them he allowed Cortana to access the computer network like before, Cortana was pleased to find that the security station happened to be connected to a number of routes used by the dogs and there were some speakers there. This naturally was not connected to the main hub and as such was not going to be of much use to them, but for what the A.I had in mind, it was more than adequate for her needs.

She quickly accessed her data-core and began to create fully synthetic copies of the sound frequencies used in the old device but began to modify it to make it more powerful and yet undetectable to the human ear. As soon as she was done with her work, she began to play out the sounds and sure enough the sounds were already working their magic as the Dogs stopped to listen to the sounds.

They naturally were too low for regular humans to hear and were custom made by the UNSC A.I as she began to order the dogs to start panicking and causing all sorts of general mayhem. And sure enough, the dogs were quick to respond to the unheard orders from the A.I as they began to really make things hard for their handlers and it was not long before all the guard dogs in the base were making a hell of a riot as if they were suddenly hit with a massive case of rabies without the hyper aggressiveness.

It was not long before the dogs had to be taken out of the base and locked down in the kennels where they were supposed to be stationed. Once Cortana was able to learn from an incoming message that all the dogs were currently on lock down she smiled and jumped back into the MJOLNIR.

"There…that should keep the dogs from getting frisky on the way out. Now then, let's hustle quick."

John nodded as they moved deeper into the base itself and try their best to make it to the lab area where the Falcon had been stored. He knew that he had enough time to make it there before he was going to cause all manner of destruction in this base. But he was also going to need a serious layout of the base in order to have an idea on what he was going to be facing. Thankfully for him, he managed to locate what appeared to be an armory station with limited security and only two guards.

He moved in and quickly eliminated one guard with a powerful strike to the neck that easily broke the bones and then quickly moved to break the arm of the other who tried to reach for the alarm switch. He quickly grabbed the other guard by the neck and quickly broke the neck before the man could even cry out. He checked them and found a pass word key card and slid the device into the scanner and was soon in the armory station.

There he found a number of explosives, weapons, munitions and the like as well as a number of other tools that he decided he could use to add even more destruction to the base. He had to be quick as there was a chance that someone would be there to try and find the ones he had just killed. He quickly took the bodies into the armory station and opened up a pair of lockers, finding some machine guns with full ammunition load in them. He took them and lined them up to the door and quickly managed to make a triggering system with some hard wire and weights, using his training in making improvised traps and a triggering mechanism that would make them fire if anyone tried to step into the room and stepped on the trigger.

He also began lining up the area with a number of grenades on a triggering system that would easily remove their pins and send them off to blow up. The triggering system was also tied to the machine guns and once the said weapons would stop firing, they would then trigger the grenades as he began to pack up some more C4 explosives into a backpack along with a smaller bag and a good deal of small nails. As soon as he was done with getting his demolitions supplies, he wasted no time and left the area.

He tracked the signal from the Falcon's hidden NAV Marker and soon was able to locate the room. It was heavily defended and therefore not going to be easy to break into, which was why he decided to take out one of his explosives and wrap it into the bag with the nails and timed it for ten seconds. He then tossed it quickly towards the door and the guards who were there. The ten seconds were all the Spartan was going to need as he was quickly moving to close the distance just as the guards spotted both him and the bag.

Before they could draw their weapons to fire at the Spartan, the bag was now there before them and near their feet just as the timer hit zero.

BOOM!

…

The scientists in the room where the Falcon was being held for study and further testing were shocked out of their skin when the door to their base was sent flying into their area and was sent smashing into a pair of guards. They died easily and as the smoke filled the area, the surviving guards were trying to activate the alarms, but in the smoke, the Spartan placed his hand into a nearby terminal and allowed Cortana to shut down the alarms in this area while also rerouting the communications and recording systems of the area's security network…effectively blinding the rest of the base to the attack for a while.

John this time was going full auto as he took out his MA5C and began to fire several accurate bursts of ammunition into the guards that tried to fight back. He picked his targets quickly and efficiently, making sure to conserve his ammunition for this mission as he needed to keep his supplies up until he was able to escape the battle field and make his way back to base in one piece. His shots were deadly accurate and he was able to put down a number of the guards before being forced to reload his weapon, he did so quickly and unleashed several more bursts as some of the scientists tried to fight back against him with their own weapons. But he was not going to hesitate as he fired into them as well, killing a number of them as well as taking out some nearby turrets that came online and tried to turn him into a target board.

Once those turrets were taken out of commission by the Spartan, he quickly placed aside his Assault Rifle and switched to using the Spike Rifles on his sides and unleashed a hail of the tungsten carbide rounds into more of the enemy forces before him, leaving behind the tell tale smell of burned hair as well as ozone as the spikes did their work on their respective targets.

As soon as he was sure that the room was cleared of all the people he had seen, the Spartan placed aside his weapons but not before reloading them, he thenquickly made his way to the Falcon and opened up the database core and saw that a number of the files in the Falcon were taken. They were not vital in any fashion, merely blue prints in it's functions, controls, and the life. But that was no excuse in his mind either as he began to check any of the black boxes in the Falcon if they were compromised. Most of the 'black boxes' in question held only simple data concerning the Falcon, but they were also vital to understand the full power of the Falcon.

As soon as he was done, John and Cortana realized that while the Falcon was not too heavily compromised in most fashions it was still compromised and as such, had to be destroyed in order to prevent it from being used by the forces of Cobra, he checked the timer and saw that the thirty minutes were up and he got ready for the alarms to start ringing while moving to one of the nearby research terminals to let Cortana do her thing on the Cobra's research database. He then checked his timer and realized that the thirty minute trap he had set was now seconds up and soon, things in the base were going to get even hotter.

…

Sure enough, the alarms did ring as the grenades when off and their detonation caused a number of the missile crates to be broken and the missiles detonated as well. These missiles were usually armed with triggering systems but since the explosion had damaged them enough, they were soon unleashed as a torrent of missiles were soon flying in all directions in the airfield and some aimed right into the base itself. The missiles that did fire into the base caught Cobra completely with their pants down as a number of the people in the base were easily killed by the explosions as well as the debris and shrapnel that flew all over the place.

The Cobra forces tried to find out what the heck happened but they were soon dealing with massive fires and more as sections of the base were badly damaged by the missiles going off, it didn't help matters when the Spartan's actions of positioning the missile crates in certain angles had allowed the missiles to hit some of the nearby vehicles in the base, causing even more damage as the vehicles were now exploding as well, adding even more to the chaos.

The results were all the more obvious as alarms and klaxons filled the air as the Cobra base was on full alert. It was also when Cortana decided to give the Cobra forces something else to worry about as she managed to gain access to their base's research network and database core center.

"Time to give them a taste of their own medicine I say."

…

In the Command room…

Cobra Commander was stunned by the news, he and the other leaders were currently working on studying the latest creations of their scientists and engineers when the explosions occurred inside their base and they were trying to figure out just what was going on. But they were not going to get far as they were suddenly contacted by the science teams in the base that they were currently under full attack of a different kind. Apparently something had began to unleash logic bombs all over the place and into their software networks. The base's automated firewalls and detection software tried to develop a counter to the attack, but it was proving to be a seriously difficult task as the computer programs were being attack by logic bombs and so many highly advanced algorithms that the processors were literally burning themselves to death trying to develop answers to these attacks.

At this rate of attack by the unknown cyber attacker, all of their research data and core projects were going to be lost to them and this base's ability as a research base was going to come to a very destructive end. This much the man knew already as he looked at the situation before him.

He turned to the other leaders and swiftly issued orders.

"Shut down all the database cores and cut the sever links!"

"AND FIND OUT WHAT IS GOING ON!"

Destro then contacted the main security network and gave out commands.

"This is Destro to all security personnel! The base is under attack! I repeat the base is under attack! All combat personnel on and off duty are to go into full combat readiness immediately! All personnel are to go fully armed and shoot to kill the intruder!"

As soon as he gave the order, he turned to Major Bludd, Tomax and Xamot as he spoke to them.

"Have all members of the Crimson Guard at the ready to fight with the possible intruder or if possible intruders. Whoever did this attack is certainly not the Joes since this should have been followed by their trademark attack on our base and no captured Joes so far in this attack tells me that this attack is not part of their overall plan."

It was then that an incoming call from a patrol in the outside of the base came in.

"Command! This patrol team Delta! We've got a serious situation out here!"

The Baroness was the one to take the incoming call while the others were trying to find out just what the heck was going on in the base all of a sudden around them.

"Is it the Joes?"

"Negative ma'am…this was not the work of the Joes. The gunner and the driver are dead….and torn apart. There's no way this was animal attack, and the weapon damage on them is horrific. The tank they had is near the wall and seems to be intact."

The Baroness and the others realized that whoever was leading this attack was already in the base and there was no telling what was going to happen and they needed to stop whoever it was that was attacking them. Cobra Commander then shouted to the communication systems and contacted the transport that they used to come to the base to get it ready for their possible evacuation.

However, it was there that they got some news at surprised them all, the transport was no longer able to function due to some severe damage to the engines of the plane in question. The origin of the damage to the engine was unknown, but it was bad enough that the plane was no longer of any use to anyone.

In the meantime the damage to their research archives was still ongoing, whatever or whoever it was that was turning all the files of their research into electronic confetti, the results were too much for the scientists to deal with as the attacks were spreading all over the database files. They were doing all that they could manage to save as many of the files that were still not being damaged and destroyed.

…

Cortana smiled as she did her work and went back into John's MJOLNIR and they went to work by layering some explosives on the Falcon in strategic areas that was going to ensure maximum destruction and also to leave only rubble that was hardly worth salvaging, he then had the explosives set to explode in ten minutes. Once they were done, the Spartan managed to get some more definite floor plans and began to move to locate any and all areas that could cause even more damage to the base in question. Once he was out of the lab, he made his way through the base and locate areas that would be helpful.

He also knew that with the base alerted to his attacks, the time for stealth was over as he readied his Assault Rifle and moved out into the corridors. He encountered several Cobra Troopers and led by a pair of Crimson Guard officers, and soon a fire fight was in effect as the Spartan downed several of the Troopers. The enemy open fired at the Spartan and the shields reacted easily to the attacks as flashes of golden light were all over the Spartan. The Master Chief then moved out and quickly rushed the Crimson troopers and despite their focusing of their weapons fire on the Spartan, the shields held and the Spartan quickly killed them with a three round burst for each, two in the chest and one in the head. The two dropped and John moved after reloading his weapon once more. As he moved out, Cortana spoke then to him.

"Chief, there seems to be some sort fuel depot at least a few more rooms from you as well as a barracks nearby."

"Got it."

The Spartan managed to locate the barracks in question, just as two squads of Cobra Troopers came out. The Spartan fired into them while moving at top speed. Killing a number of them with bullets and smashing into them with enough force to resemble a high speed car smashing a person hard into a wall or post. The soldiers inside the barracks had no time to react as the Spartan quickly placed his Assault Rifle on his back and took out his Spiker Rifles and unleashed a barrage of the spikes to turn the enemy into nothing but impaled target boards. As soon as he was done, the Spartan turned and placed aside his weapons, locking them to his thigh armor plates and grabbing a pair of C4 bombs from the bag he still had on him.

He set the timer to at least a minute and a half and moved out of the barracks while the wounded and the dying were all around him and as he left the Spartan then took off for the fuel depot as the bombs exploded, sending shock waves through the base as the Spartan was quick to take out more of the bombs and arming them as he ran through the base. The bombs would trigger in at least three minutes each as the Spartan began to toss them about in the base areas where there was plenty of space for him to toss the bombs.

He ran through a cat walk and below him were a number of vehicles in what appeared to be some sort of Hanger as he spotted them, he dropped the bombs down as he moved through the walkway. Bullet fire was heard as he was able to see with his Motion Sensor that he was being shot at. He ignored them as he was soon behind a wall, he turned and took out his Assault Rifle and moved out as he soon encountered more enemy soldiers, cutting them down but this time the enemy had the advantage of cover while using the much wider corridor to spread out their numbers while being coordinated by the Crimson Guard who were leading them.

John spotted the leaders and quickly decided to aim for them as he managed to catch one with a single round to the neck. The officer fell down as the Spartan then directed his attention to the next officer. He moved away his Assault Rifle, taking out his Energy Sword as well as one of the Spiker Rifles and fired two rounds at two more Cobra Troopers, he rushed while firing the Spiker Rifle in hand, killing more of the Troopers, he then leaped forward and before the Crimson Guard officer could react, the Spartan lashed out with a descending slash with the Energy Sword and carved through the man and the weapon he lifted in both hands in a vain effort to defend himself.

The Spartan lashed out with the Spiker and easily used the bayonet blades to impale an attacking Cobra Trooper while using the energy sword to cut down the survivors. He kicked the body off the blades and the dead female Cobra Trooper fell down as he placed the weapon aside, he barely had time to react though as three more squads came right at him, this time the squads were far larger numbers and were armed with mixture of light infantry weapons and heavy squad support gear. They were quickly dispersed by the Crimson Guard officers and ordered to lay covering fire and try to focus on the Spartan.

John ducked and had to give them credit for using this half circle kill zone formation, at least their officers were better trained than the rest of the Troopers. He however knew that now was not the right time to admire the enemy as he took out some of the explosives and quickly rushed towards the enemy while setting the explosives to a full half minute and as he closed in while his shields were able to hold on, he leaped and dropped the explosives behind him and ran off as they detonated, enveloping the enemy forces in fire and destruction. John ignored the screams of pain and suffering from those who barely were alive as he finally reached the fuel depot.

He soon encountered several fully armed squads and quickly ducked as some of the Crimson Guard soldiers grabbed some flame turrets unleashed flame bursts at him, no doubt to try and keep him at a distance while the other soldiers would try to kill him at a distance with their weapons.

"These Crimson Guard officers are certainly a step above the regular soldiers, shame they are too few, at least they're a step better than the Troopers."

"I noticed, we've got to move."

John then turned to spot the hoses feeding the flame turrets and quickly aimed at them, firing several bursts and destroying them to cut the fuel supply of the weapons in question. He then decided to pay the Crimson Guard back by tossing two timed explosives at the turrets and both soon blew up, unleashing ignited fuel and shrapnel all over the place. A number of soldiers were unlucky to be covered in flame as the Spartan moved out and began to fight back, dropping several more soldiers before directing his full attention to the weapons he could salvage. He grabbed a pair of M60 machine guns and easily fired both weapons in either hand and unleashed hell on the surviving Cobra Troopers and Crimson Guard.

Many fell but those who survived were rallied and fought back, they managed to pin down the Spartan and try to finish him. However he responded by grabbing a nearby fuel tank that was usually a size similar to a tank used for fueling planes. The Cobra forces watched in horrified awe as the Spartan casually tossed the thing right at them as if it was nothing more than a feather filled pillow.

As soon as it hit, the Spartan fired several rounds into it to spill the fuel which was quickly ignited by several sparks and turned into one massive bomb that unleash massive amounts of burning fuel and shrapnel. More than enough to really make things bad for the Cobra Forces as the Spartan looked over the place and saw that the base was getting really burned. The fuel depot's fire control systems kicked in and soon the firestorm that erupted earlier was being contained.

The Spartan however was not done as he moved to what appeared to be ventilation control center for the fuel depot. He opened some of the tanks filled with fuel and took a hose to pump the fuel into tanks near the pipes which served as a system to cool the air and then overrode the safety controls and had the ventilation systems take in the fuel and turn the mixture into vapor to be taken into the pipes and spread through the base in a highly explosive mix and the resulting detonation was going to turn the base into one massive Fuel Air Explosive.

All over the base, toxic alarms were heard as the base's sensors detected the massive amounts of fuel vapor in the base. Already many of the personnel were trying to escape or use hazmat protection. But it was not going to be of much help as the gas was easily spreading all over the base at an alarming rate.

John quickly set himself for what he knew was going to be a seriously explosive result as he tossed a bomb to the pipes and was told by Cortana that the Falcon's NAV Marker signal had just been lost, indicating that the bombs they placed on it had finally exploded and destroyed the unit completely. The Spartan nodded and wasted no time as the last of his explosive surprises went up as he covered himself and powered his MJOLNIR's shields to full strength for the blast.

…

It was not long before the entire base was soon consumed in explosive flames as the fuel mixture was ignited due to the destruction that was happening due to the explosives the Spartan had set off. The damage, coupled with the now exploding fuel and air mixture was more than enough to literally blow the base up from the inside out. The detonating fuel mixture that filled the base incinerated anything and anyone without proper protection. Rooms that would have normally been safe areas were turned into flash ovens as the soldiers and personnel in them were instantly killed by the flames and the explosive force that killed with the deadly combination of pressure and shrapnel as well as heat.

The base shook with the damage as sections of the base couldn't handle the massive explosive forces that were now tearing it from the inside. The stench of burning fuel was all over the place as the rooms were burned hard by the ignited fuel mixture. Some sections of the walls where the gas mixture came from also exploded with more than enough force to literally blow sections of the base out from the mountain.

As soon as the fires began to die down, the base was completely torn apart from the inside action, sections of the base's interior were literally torn out from them, areas of the base's super structure were long gone or blown around in different areas, sparks were everywhere as power lines and more were torn all over the place and there were also areas where water as well as other fluids were spilling all over the place. There were torn sections of plating all over the place and the smell of burning fuel, wiring, metal, insulation and more was now mixed with the smell of burned clothing and flesh.

Many of the personnel in the base were badly burned and no longer able to move or fight as the pain was unbearable for them. In less than two to three hours, the base had been turned into a scene of carnage and destruction that really would have been quite the sight for just about everyone in the area to see. Power and communications was pretty much trashed and without any way to contain the situation before them, Cobra had no way to counter the growing damage that mounted over the base itself.

It was also closely followed by the death of a large number of Cobra soldiers who tried to access one of the armory stations, ironically the same one that the Spartan had just booby trapped. The Troopers who came in were easily shredded by the first traps and this killed even more. Once the machine guns ran out of ammunition, the Cobra Troopers tried to storm the supposedly occupied armory station. They paid for it as the grenades went off, causing even more damage into the base as the other explosives in the base also went off from the combined detonation nearly as the grenades in the room that they had been stored in previously.

This added to carnage as the whole base was now in very shaky ground as the explosions had weakened the whole base's support and even though it was made from solid granite. The internal damage was really going to add to the possible collapse of the entire base itself.

…

The only area of the base that was still very much standing was the location where the leaders of Cobra were. The area of the base that housed them was a standalone location with it's own ventilation, communications, power supply and the like. But even it was not spared from the destruction as sections of the location were damaged by the blast. It took a while before power was restored and soon enough the leaders of Cobra tried to get some semblance of order in the place.

The Spartan however got up and checked to see that his shield had handled the damage and was recovering nicely with the room serving as a secondary form of defense from the massive torrent of flame that had just engulfed the place as well as the explosions that hit it. He then moved out in order to locate the exact area where the leaders of Cobra were hiding right now and he had every intention to track them down and see just how capable they were when they were very much on their own.

The Spartan personally terminated those who were wounded and still alive with merely several strikes to break their bones. However along the way, he managed to encounter pockets of resistance from surviving Cobra forces who tried to fight him despite the fact that a majority of them were badly wounded and needing serious medical attention. Though it was doubtful that they were going to get much in terms of medical treatment considering the severe damage done to the base itself and as such, the medical bays were also severely damaged or expecting high numbers of patients.

They however managed to put up a good fight to try and stop the Spartan from going any deeper and judging from their tactics, they appeared to be a handful of Crimson Guard soldiers who were doing their absolute best to stop the Spartan from going after the leaders, but they were only going to succeed in slowing him down as the Spartan was able to use the damage done to the base to his advantage by getting the drop on unsuspecting targets after bypassing any cell of resistance that he could find. Some of the terminals that were still able to function after his attack using the fuel air explosive allowed him to finally patch into the main security network as the damage had caused a number of security command nodes in the base to shut down in the use of emergency power.

Apparently the base's computer security systems had backup power grinds but these were not enough to give power to the security control nodes and rendered the defensive systems of the computer useless. This allowed Cortana to send a legion of copies to cause even more damage as well as locate the last area of the base where the Cobra leadership would be located in the ruined remains of the base. It was not long before the A.I was able to find what was it she was looking for in the still functional database.

Cortana then informed him that she was able to get the data on the location of the Cobra Leadership. John nodded and began to head in that direction and finish the mission that he started out to do, he was not naturally going to kill the Cobra leadership just yet, he was going to inflict as much damage as he could possibly inflict on them before taking his leave of the place. He encountered even more resistance to his assault but he was not going to be denied easily as he used his Assault Rifle, the two Spiker Rifles, and the Energy Swords and soon the bodies were pilling up as the surviving Crimson Guard officers and Cobra Troopers were cut down.

However, Cortana had also told him that the location was now being filled by a large security detail of Crimson Guard forces who were no doubt going to fight to keep him from attacking the Cobra leadership. They were not alone as they had been gathering surviving personnel to form a full attack force to hit him fast and hard the very second he came into the room as they had every intention to unleash a massive hailstorm of bullet fire to terminate him once and for all.

John however was not caring for that in any fashion, the time for hiding was over, he was here to give the Cobra leadership a serious message and he was more than ready to do that as he faced yet another resistance cell, this time comprising entirely of Crimson Guard officers who were armed with a combination weapons.

The Spartan attacked them quickly with several fast bursts of the Assault Rifle and using some CQC tactics to kill them when they come too close. He had no time to relax as he was soon beset by another force of Cobra soldiers and officers and with no time to use his Assault Rifle as he needed to reload the weapon quickly, he switched to the Spiker Rifles and unleashed even more tungsten spikes into the attackers while also using the close combat blades on the Spikers. He used slashing and stabbing motions and the Cobra forces that tried to attack him from different angles and the bodies were piling up and soon he was surrounded by a number of bloody bodies as he placed the weapons aside.

He kept on moving forward, eliminating any and all threats that were coming his way until he reached a solid door of metal that looked reinforced. The fact that it was this reinforced and seemed to be fairly intact and not badly damaged then directed his attention to the doors before him and he knew that this was going to be the last thing that was going to stop him from reaching his targets, but he had no intention of stopping as he placed aside his ranged weapons. He then grabbed both handles of his Energy Swords, igniting the two of them and began to cut through the door. Even though the metal door was reinforced and rather thick, it was not designed to block the intense cutting power of the Covenant weapon.

Globs of metal fell down and the smell of molten metal was in the air. Once he was sure that the door was weakened, he powered up the MJOLNIR and unleashed a pair of strong yet highly precise kicks that was aimed in the areas that he had cut deeply and hard enough to severely weaken the metal that was present.

The door fell down in sections with the cut areas looking like melted wax and soon the Spartan was facing the targets he had been hunting ever since arriving in the base.

…

Cobra Commander, Destro, Major Bludd, Scrap Iron, Tomax, Xamot, and the Baroness looked on in shock as they and their security force of Crimson Guard now faced just who was attacking them in this base as the Spartan was now armed with both his hands holding fully ignited Energy Swords. The Crimson Guard were tense as they raised their weapons to face the Master Chief, hoping that their numbers, superior training and more would be enough to stop this…thing before them as they were able to quickly guess that he was the one that had just slaughtered their fellow Cobra soldiers and officers. They also hoped that the BATs with them were also going to be enough as well as Cobra Commander shouted out the order.

"DESTROY HIM!"

As for the Spartan, he wasted no time as he charged into the fray, no amount of forces were going to stop him this time around. Bullets and more flew as Crimson Guard, BATs, and more were now firing as the armed Spartan charged right towards them.

One this was certain…

This attack was going to have some serious results!

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Well, I guess this tells everyone that I am back and my PC is working again and unlike before I plan to have a portable USB to hold backup files in order to avoid what happened to me recently. I was happy most of the core backup files were still in the support hard drive so I can recover most of my work.

Sadly the tradeoff is that my PC had to be reformatted and most of the projects I made had been lost forever. But there was a silver lining there as well. This has given me time to relax and rethink all of my work while upgrading the files I have made as well. So expect some new changes and plans in the works that I was working on previously.

Anyways, I am planning on making a two part of this blood bath of a chapter so expect things to get REALLY bloody on the next chapter! In this chapter it's merely the beginning salvo so I hope that you all don't mind with the changes that I have made with my work.

Also this is another time where John, Cortana as well as the Joes and Cobra will be busy working on their own time and this will allow all three of them to advance a bit more. Also if you are wondering if the Brutes are ever going to make an appearance, they will be there soon enough to really raise hell on the world. And no, they will never align with anyone, every being on Earth are enemies to them and they will burn, and kill all before them in their mad desire to do what they believe still is the will of the Gods.

I also plan to point out that if anyone suggests I bring any other Halo characters into this story, then I have to say that it's not going to happen just yet though I am going to try introducing more things into the story. What those things are will remain my secret and will be revealed soon enough. In the mean time, this is going to be the first of two part stories before we have a period of repair and reconstruction while I can explore having other characters play into the story and also expand on the relationship tree.

Just because Cover Girl seems to be the lead so far in being involved with the Chief with Cortana still being an A.I, that does not mean that some ladies will not get the chance to flirt with the Master Chief, to be far after all since the G.I Joe series does have some very interesting female characters and models that were not seen very often .

See you in Part 2!


	11. Chapter 11

G.I Joe X Halo

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to G.I Joe and Halo

Chapter 9

Part 2

Spartan's Wrath

( ): Thoughts

…

The Crimson Guard were unleashing all of their firepower against the Spartan as John charged at them, but their bullets were hitting the shield and only through concentrated fire were they making some headway in fighting the Master Chief. They were not the only ones in the fight as the officers also began to unleash their own attacks. However, that hardly stopped the Spartan as his initial charge allowed him to carve into several Crimson Guard Troopers and cut them down despite the fact that they tried to use their weapons to block the Energy Swords, which was not exactly the wisest move about.

The plasma blades carved through the weapons and then through their body armor and clothing as well as their flesh and soon the two fell, only to be joined by two more of their fellows who were cut down with two swipes by the Spartan as he quickly blocked another's attempts to shoot him and quickly stabbed another deep in the chest with the other Energy Sword. The Spartan quickly moved as more bullets came at him, he dodged into cover behind a nearby terminal as the crimson Guard focused their fire, but that proved to be a mistake as the Spartan had only taken cover to replenish his shields and when he was assured that his shields were fully charged and ready for battle, he quickly used his Energy Swords to carve out the terminal from it's location and quickly kicked it towards the Crimson Guard with lethal force.

The projectile smashed hard into several Crimson Guard and they were severely injured as the Spartan came at them at high speed, moving like a blur and quickly lashing out with several slashes. The smell of super heated ozone, burned cloth, metal, flesh, and blood filled the air as three more Crimson Guard were cut down with frightening ease with three more being sent flying by a powerful kick by the Spartan that filled the air with the sounds of shattering bones as the three fell down to the ground with their heads in very odd and brutal angels, showing that their necks had been broken by the Spartan's kick.

The Master Chief then turned and stabbed two more Crimson Guard who had tried to use the butts of their weapons to hit him, killing both troopers with ease. He drew out both swords and cut down two more with the first one being cut above the waist while the other had her head sliced clean off by the Spartan. It was here that Destro came with a portable Flame Thrower and tried to use it to fry the Spartan as he unleashed a blast of flame at the man. The Spartan however was able to get to cover and quickly took out a grenade from his pack and as Destro tried to fire another stream of flame at him. The Spartan tossed the grenade and that forced Destro to move out of the way as the weapon exploded. That killed a few of the Crimson Guard as well as wound several others as well as Destroy due to the shrapnel that was sent flying about.

Destro tried to get but before he could react to the Master Chief's attack, the Spartan came at him and sent a powerful strike down to Destro's left arm. The sound of cracking bones was heard as Destro yelled out in pain and before he could react the Spartan made his next attack on the still recovering man as he placed aside his Energy Swords and reverted to his Spiker Rifles, lashing out and cutting into Destro's chest in that instant, spilling blood in that instant and sending the man to the ground.

"DESTRO! DAMN YOU!"

That voice naturally came from the baroness as she came at the Spartan and tried to blast him to kingdom come with her own weapon as several of the Crimson Guard fired their weapons in conjunction with her own attacks on the Spartan. The shields flared golden at the weapons fire but the Spartan was not done just yet as he moved forward and fired several spikes at the Crimson Guard. Several of them were sent flying by the high impact weapon as they had not expected being hit by such weapons. They also wound up being literally stapled to the walls as the Spikes were more than enough to impale them.

The Spartan then struck with a powerful elbow charge that shattered several of the Baroness' ribs and he finished it off with a powerful blow to her thigh that made the sound of breaking bones a lot louder than before as she fell down in pain from the attack. The Spartan however moved away as Destro came at him to try and fry him once more, his combat honed reflexes saving him as he quickly came to the face of the man and after placing aside one of the Spiker Rifles, he ripped off the fuel tank from the flame thrower before Destro could fire the weapon. He however quickly tossed the fuel canister into the air and moved away just as the fuel came out…and contacted the still presently ignited ignition system. That turned the leaking fuel canister into an improvised IED and it exploded, unleashing not just hot shrapnel but super heated flaming liquid that hit the Baroness and Destro.

The two screamed and were quickly able to reach for some form of fire retardant foam system and they were able to activate it as the pain of their injuries finally overrode their conscious states and they were soon down and out for the count, alive, but unconscious.

…

The Spartan turned as more of the surviving Crimson Guard attacked, unleashing more bullets and some even willingly attacking him in close combat despite seeing just how dangerous it was to try such a trick on the Spartan. The Spartan obliged them as he lashed out with the tungsten blades of the Spiker Rifles, spilling blood and more as he methodically switched from close combat attacks to shooting the Crimson Guard with Spikes. The Crimson Guard who were able to get to cover were the lucky ones as the ones who were too late in getting behind cover were easily dispatched and were either stapled to the walls and floors, or bleeding out and dying.

They got up and fought back but that was not going to be an easy or healthy course of action as the Spartan was quick to take them down. One got stabbed in the chest by both Spike Rifle blades and was lifted with terrifying ease by the Spartan before being tossed aside like a rag doll into the others who were with her. The Spartan then took down three more of the Crimson Guard before he was soon being attacked both Scrap iron and Major Bludd.

The two officers no doubt believed that they had a better chance in fighting the Spartan and they picked the right time in some respects as the Spiker Rifles had just ran out of rounds. The Spartan quickly reverted to his Energy Swords as he placed the Spiker Rifles aside and was able to avoid the fire by using the Energy Swords as shields to supplement his own shield systems. The close the gap and quickly cut down the weapons both men had…though in Scrap Iron's case, the Spartan took out MORE than just his weapon.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Scrap Iron shouted in pain like no one would believe as the smell of burned cloth, flesh, and bone as his right hand had just been sliced off by the Energy Sword with ease and he was soon greeted by a strong series of light punches to the chest from the Spartan as he had deactivated one of his Energy Swords and unleashed the punches. Though the term light punch happened to be fairly relative when it came to man who had enough strength to crack solid concrete and bend metal with ease.

The man fell down in great pain and was soon out for the count and Major Bludd was going all out, but the Spartan was not going to waste his time as his second Energy Sword was soon able to cut down the weapon the man had in his hands, he then moved to grab a nearby grenade that Major Bludd had on his person and quickly pulled the pin for the grenade before the man could react. The Spartan moved away and it was here that the man saw the pin and realized what was about to happen and he quickly tried to remove the grenade from him and move away, but Major Bludd had only moments to get away before the grenade exploded.

BOOM!

The blast was more than enough to send the man to the ground in pain and his body was covered in burning debris and white hot shrapnel. Bludd cried out and swore out a number of curses that soon lost their coherence and meaning as the pain hit him fast and hard. John quickly decided to end the suffering of Major Bludd, but not by killing the man of course. He focused on hitting the man with a strong but nonlethal blow that sent the man hard into a large number of broken metal pieces. They were not enough to skewer the man and kill him by cutting vital blood vessels or piercing vital organs, but they were enough to give him serious lacerations and cuts. That coupled with the pain he had from the previous wounds that he had been given were more than enough o send Major Bludd into a world of major pain before he finally lost consciousness.

The Spartan then found himself being attacked by the remains of the Crimson Guard who were still alive and kicking. They fired all their weapons once more and this forced the Spartan to go into cover but the Crimson Guard were not content this time to remain defensive as they attacked in suicidal charges to weaken the Spartan. They even tried to use melee attacks with Knives and the butts of their rifles, they even tried wielding their weapons like clubs of a sort. These attacks were not enough to stop the Spartan but they were enough to weaken the shields and also forced the Spartan to place aside his Energy Swords as they were already running low on power. This forced the Spartan to rely on close combat attacks as he knew that his Spiker Rifles were low on ammunition and while he could have just used the blades, the Crimson Guard were preventing him from using them.

This however was also working in the Spartan's favor as his punches, back hands, knee strikes, kicks, elbow strikes, head butts and shoulder charges were more than enough to send the Crimson Guard attackers back with terrifying ease and leave out a mess of broken bodies. Those who were able to breath and move…though barely were not much better as they had more broken bones in them from the Spartan's attacks than a piano had keys. It was here that the Spartan was soon attacked by the founders and leaders of the Crimson Guard, the Crimson Twins.

Tomax and Xamot closed in the gap and attacked in unison, hoping that the last of their Crimson Guard had bought them time to weaken the Spartan and allow them to finish him off. The Spartan spotted the twins and recalled their file of having Corsican Syndrome, and that actually made the Spartan smirk just a little bit. They were walking into their own graves as the Spartan blocked their combined kicks. The two attacked as one and the Spartan blocked them with ease, his shields were still there and he was calm in fighting the two men.

He then spotted Cobra Commander accessing some sort of panel and he spotted a section of the wall move away and revealed another passage. It was no doubt an escape tunnel that the officers of Cobra only knew of. He did wonder just why they had not used it but decided that since he had attacked them in an unexpected manner and time frame, they had not determined that they would need to use it in their own base no less. The man fled through it and carried an SMG to defend himself, the Spartan however decided to leave that man alone for now as he was still being attacked by the Crimson Twins.

Tomax and Xamot were not happy with the results of their battle with the Spartan as they had no way to bypass the Spartan's defensive movements and counters. They tried to attack in unison and this usually worked but despite the fact that they were giving their all, the man in armor was able to block them. His speed was supernatural…making even Storm Shadow's attacks look slow and clumsy. The Spartan however decided that now was a good time to put an end to the attacks of the two siblings and lashed out with attacks of his own, but they were too fast for the two men to see or even counter.

The Spartan lashed out with a powerful strike to Tomax's left leg and then to Xamot's right leg at the same time. This was soon followed by the Spartan to strike both the right arms of the two siblings and tossed them down hard with considerable force after breaking the bones in their forearms. The throw made by the Spartan also dislocated the arms of the Twins at the shoulders and sent them into a world of pain. The fact that they could feel each other's pain amplified the feelings of said pain in their arms and soon they were out of it from both the pain and impact of being tossed into the ground with considerable force, they were alive of course, but they were certainly going to feel it in the morning.

As soon as he scanned the area and saw that all the Crimson Guard were deal and the Cobra officers were out cold from their respective injuries and the pain, the Spartan turned to deal with Cobra Commander himself.

Cortana then spoke to the Spartan as she had remained silent in the majority of the battle and had been recording everything..

"John, get me into this area's network, it's time to see if this lead snake can see in the dark."

John nodded and placed his hand on a nearby terminal that was still functional and soon Cortana was in the base's system, or rather, this independent sections' system and soon she was downloading the schematics and took command of the systems and killed the lights…all of them. Once they were bathed in darkness, the Spartan took out his MA5C and turned off the indicator lights on his weapon, he moved through the tunnels and heard the shout that told him that the man he was now going to be stalking was left in the dark.

…

"NO!"

Cobra Commander shouted as he was suddenly plunged into the darkness as he readied his SMG and tried frantically to find his way out, even the tunnel's emergency lighting was taken out, plunging him completely in darkness. This was not something he liked in any possible way. He was not afraid of the dark, but he had no idea now if the man was following him. He turned around and he felt something in the earth, foot steps and he quickly turned around and fired out his weapon.

The sounds of gunfire and falling shell casings filled the air and the flashes allowed the armored man to have some light, but it was not enough as he tried to find his way to the escape vehicle. Unknown to him, the footsteps were made to just test his state of mind as he was now being stalked by the Spartan

Stalking Cobra Commander was not something the Spartan was bad at…in fact this was too easy as the Spartan was hunting the man down with the use of his MJOLNIR's night vision mode on and he was now carrying his MA5C instead of his other weapons, the Energy Swords obviously would have been too bright to hide, and despite their power, the Spiker Rifles had a tendency to hum when powered up and their indicator lights could reveal his position to the man he was trying to hunt. And the good news was that the indicator lights on his Assault Rifle could be turned off and would not cause any difficulties for the Spartan in this kind of situation.

As he tracked the man in the tunnels, he also made sure to be wary of possible traps and ambushes as there was still a good chance that the enemy was going to be ready for him and Cobra Commander was not going to be easy to deal with even if the man happened to be alone. His thoughts on the matter proved to be very accurate as the man began to turn and fire his weapons out at him. The Spartan managed to keep himself in the cover of darkness and avoid the enemy from hitting him, as he knew that the glowing effects of his shields was going to give away his location to his quarry.

"COME OUT OF THE DARK NOW!"

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"

The shouts, coupled with the incessant firing was more than enough to tell the Spartan and Cortana that the leader of Cobra was starting to get unhinged by the fact that he was being stalked and in his own base no less. The darkness certainly added to the situation as Cortana's hacking into the base's independent power supply and rendered the area completely dark. John then saw the man reloading his weapon, telling him that he had no more ammunition to throw at his and Cortana's direction.

That was what he was waiting for as he moved in at high speed, while still keeping himself silent. Most would mistake Spartans as being loud with their armor on when moving at full speed, but Spartans like him could move silently if and when they needed to do so and when it was better to be quiet.

Cobra Commander had no idea what hit him, but in that moment, he felt his hand in a powerful grip that he knew belonged to the stalker that was after him in his own base. He tried to escape, but to his horror found himself trapped in a grip that was more than enough to make it feel like death itself had it's grip on him.

"LET ME GO DAMN YOU!"

The Spartan replied coldly.

"Never."

The Spartan quickly forced Cobra Commander to drop his SMG and he pushed the man back and sent the leader of Cobra to the floor but the man was quick to get back on his feet and try to escape, this allowed the Spartan to follow the man. This also allowed him to see that the man was cradling his arm, no doubt due to his grip on the man's arm earlier. The Spartan quickly spotted a nearby pipeline and aimed for it, firing several bursts. The results were explosive as the pipe exploded and unleashed super heated liquid and shrapnel. The hit was there as the leader of Cobra was burned by the super heated liquid and several wounds. All of which the Spartan saw as crippling. The Spartan decided to end this by quickly striking the man's leg on the thigh with the butt of his Assault Rifle and the sound of a freshly broken bone was heard as he moved over the man and he saw that Cobra Commander was still standing.

The man reached for a knife hidden in his boot to try and aim for any part of him in what the Spartan easily recognized as utter desperation to save himself. The Spartan blocked that attack easily by grabbing the blade and actually breaking it. His hand was not harmed due to the shielding and even if the shield was not there, the enhanced strength of the Master Chief could bend and at times crack metals. The Combat Knife snapped with a sound of shrieking metal and the blade fell down into the ground. The Spartan then struck a light but strong palm strike, and the man was sent flying back to the ground. The man cried out and was soon out like a light. The Spartan moved forward and checked Cobra Commander and he was able to see that the man was alive and still breathing. He then spoke to Cortana as soon as he was able to move away from the tunnel system.

"You sure leaving him and the rest of his cronies alive is a good idea?"

"For now yes, he is going to be a serious problem for his own group. Normally I would say that getting rid of him is a good idea, since he might be a lot more dangerous than he makes himself out to be, but doing so will only create a power vacuum and place someone else who might be more dangerous than him. For now we leave him alive John and the rest of his cohorts to see just what they are going to do this time around, but we'll keep tabs on Cobra either way."

"Right, come on, let's leave."

The two left Cobra Commander and the rest of his group behind, alive and able to recover, but they were going to be feeling it really bad in the morning. As for the rest of the personnel of the base, they were too badly wounded and distracted to do anything else for now. This allowed the Spartan to recover his weapons and move away from the base the same way he came in. Once he was clear from the base, he quickly began to move and get as much distance from the base.

Cortana kept track of everything and as soon as she was sure that they were out of the area of the base, she sent out a burst wave signal to have the Pelican piloted by her copy to come in and pick them up. Once that happened, the Spartan placed away his gear and soon they were off and out of the base and heading back to their own base to recuperate and rebuild.

Their mission was over in every sense of the word and while by military doctrine, he should have terminated the Cobra leaders, he agreed that the counter attack they made had sent the message across, and while there was no doubt that no one in Cobra had any idea that he was the CEO of the same company they tried to take over a while before, it felt good to pay them back for the mess that they started.

In the base, it was not long before some of the officers of Cobra were recovering and soon they were able to get into contact with their other forces and requested aid. However, they were going to be in for a very nasty surprise as the Spartan and his A.I companion had damaged them in a way that went beyond just slaughtering their soldiers and nearly killing all of them in this single attack as well as denying them a great deal of their data as well as the destruction of the asset they had unknowingly stolen from him in their attack on his front company before.

Cortana had recorded everything and had soon sent the images into the Cobra database for ALL of their personnel to see, with the A.I making sure to show the record of the Spartan's assault on the Crimson Guard and them as well to their followers. And the results were going to be VERY significant to them all.

…

Weeks later…

Cobra Commander and the rest of the surviving officers in Cobra was currently in a meeting hall and if anyone was looking at the now fully locked down conference room of the base, they could see that the meeting was the kind that no one wanted to interrupt if they wanted to remain in good health…and alive. The battle with the Spartan in their Mexican base had not ended well for the Cobra forces and had resulted in a serious blow to the organization that went beyond just physical injuries for the officers and the Commander.

The sight of the entire force of the base in Mexico being slaughtered by one man who was not even a member of the Joes, was more than enough to break the will of the remaining members of the organization itself. A vast number of their forces had quickly tendered their resignations and this had severely weakened the overall manpower reserves of Cobra's military. Many of the ones who left were their Cobra Troopers, a number of their own Crimson Guard, more of their more specialized infantry and more. Their civilian personnel were also giving away their own resignations as many of their technicians, mechanics, engineers, and scientists had retired and had left the organization.

This was not limited to just one base, but many other bases that were under the command of Cobra, This attack had unleashed a flood of problems as this had now left Cobra depleted of forces and manpower. There were not that many people who were now willing to take up arms for Cobra, this left only a small but fairly strong force of hard core Cobra Loyalist troopers and personnel to believed in the goals and mission of Cobra to such an extent that despite seeing the carnage that the Spartan had unleashed on them.

This was something that had been a source of some relief to the leaders of Cobra but it was still a major issue for them that they had to deal with. Without their armies and staff, their military, civilian, research and development efforts, and political reach had been severely crippled.

As for them…none of them had escaped the battle without a number of scars.

Scrap Iron was now forced to use a cybernetic copy of his right hand after having it sliced off by the Spartan who had used his Energy Sword when the man had tried to use his laser pistol on him. Scrap Iron also was wearing a number of chest wrappings and could barely talk due to the damage done to his rib cage as well as healing a number of wounds from the battle.

Both the Crimson Twins were sporting their right arms in slings after they were both broken and dislocated at the shoulder by the Spartan then they tried to fight the armored being head on in the base from before. They also had to deal with the fact that their left and right legs were in casts in the shins after the Spartan broke the bones in both of their legs in the fight. They were the lucky ones as they still had their limbs, unlike Scrap Iron.

Destro himself was not unmarked as he was also having a cast on his left arm as the two bones in his forearm had been broken in a compound fracture and he was having his ribs on the right side of his body healed due to them being badly broken, and despite wearing his uniform, he had several areas of his body suffering from second degree burns as well as having some gashes on his chest from his encounter with the bayonet blades of the Spiker Rifles that the Spartan had used in the battle.

The Baroness had some scars of her own as she was walking on a limp as her right leg had been badly hit by the Spartan in the thigh area and had resulted in the bone being cracked hard and deep. She also suffered several burns on arms and on her left side near the hip as well as several cracked ribs when she tried to tangle with the Spartan in battle. This was something that she disliked but she was happy to be still alive and breathing.

Cobra Commander himself did not escape without injury as he was having his right arm in a sling as well as a cast to hold his broken forearm in place as well as using a leg brace on his right leg to keep the pain from getting to him. These were not the only injuries as the Commander had to take to wearing several bandages on his leg and also on his chest from burns and shrapnel wounds to boot.

As for Major Bludd, he was lucky to have escaped with all his limbs still very much attached to the rest of him, but he had several gouging wounds in his legs as well as many lacerations on his body from the explosion from the grenade that had detonated before he could remove it when the Spartan had attacked him in retaliation for his attack alongside Scrap Iron. And he was also dealing with the fact that he had a number of painful gashes on his back from the battle itself.

…

All in all, many of the officers of Cobra were badly injured and looked like they had been sent into a massive grinder and things were going to be hard for them to recover from the damage not done to just them but the organization itself. This was the reason why they were currently in discussion about their latest plan on how to recover from this devastating loss. Destro however saw this as a chance to propose something that he knew was needed sorely by Cobra in order to make it a serious fighting force in order to reach it's goals.

He had long since believed that while their promises of power, wealth, and influence brought them more than enough soldiers and personnel, they were still deficient in terms of their overall military might. Even with numbers on their side, the vast majority of their forces comprised entirely of not fully trained mercenaries, thugs, and more. They had their uses and with enough time to train and gain discipline, this would have been given the chance to be fully dealt with and would have given them a much better army to work with.

He had promised the use of several new technologies that his weapons company had been working on for a number of years as well as instituting a grueling training program and a much stricter recruitment program to ensure that they got the best soldiers that they could find and recondition them to meet the standards needed by Cobra. The only significant force they had to meet those qualifications were the Crimson Guard but they were too few, and while they were capable enough as soldiers and officers, they were not in the numbers they needed to be more effective.

Destro knew the value of military special forces and while they had their own, their overall military strength was not enough to be a full scale threat. And now was a good a time as any to propose this plan while the rest of the group were currently discussing how to fill the personnel vacuum left behind by the sudden loss of their personnel from mass resignations and desertions.

"I believe this may work to our advantage."

Cobra Commander looked at Destro with a glare and wondered just where did that particular train of thought come from and the same was said by the others as the Crimson Twins spoke with Tomax in the lead.

"And just how does this…"

"Disaster benefit us exactly Destro?"

Xamot finished for his brother and the same would be said for the others though the Baroness was rather curious on what her beloved had in mind for such a claim.

"One of the greatest difficulties we have is our soldiers are not enough. Granted we have the numbers, but after this very same disaster, we lose them as well. This shows that while our funds and resources can attract followers, their mercenary natures mean that they will not be reliable when they face true danger."

Cobra Commander then replied.

"So what do you suggest we do then Destro?"

"I suggest that we get ourselves a much better fighting force based on the same training regime we give the Crimson Guard. They had soldiers who are not only better trained, and better equipped, but highly loyal to Cobra and not just to our paychecks. Money may be a good incentive to join us…but it does not buy loyalty. Nor does it buy us the force we deserve to have. Zartan and his forces may be good and a number of those we hire are just as good. But they are our only specialized forces."

"We must have an army that is more than willing to fight for Cobra and also be fully equipped to stand against the enemy that we face. For too long have our forces been filled with mere school yard bullies and thugs and those have cost us dearly. We NEED a REAL army, not a bunch of rejects like the Troopers who break and run the second they lose the advantage of numbers. That has cost us too much and we need to have that army soon if we stand a chance of actually accomplishing those goals"

Scrap Iron then spoke at that.

"You realize of course that such a plan like that is expensive as can be Destro?"

Major Bludd nodded and replied.

"Scrap Iron's got a point, making an army like that is going to cost more than just a pretty penny."

Destro then replied.

"That is why this situation is actually beneficial. With our ranks thinned as they are, we have more resources to focus on improving our troops and equipment. We shut down the bases we can afford to take down and go dark as it were. We let the Joes and Spartan Company think we are going out, this will allow us time and resources to do our work. Though we will not let them think we are dead, we of course can fund other groups to cause brush fire battles for them to put out while we improve ourselves and ready our forces."

"What about the eggheads we lost?"

"My MARS scientists will fill the gaps and they are more than able and are loyal to me as well as Cobra. My top scientists will be working hard to get the whole situation under control and we have a number of new technologies to send into the playing field."

The Baroness smiled and spoke to her beloved.

"What sort of technologies Destro?"

"We have been working on improved ballistic armor protection that is light and flexible, but hard enough to take most damage without limiting flexibility, as well as improved communications system suites for field use. There is so much to test and this will be good chance to field test them from the ground up. This must not be limited to just our ground forces…we need better pilots, better naval personnel…everything. We need to start from scratch and make sure that if and when we are ready, the Joes and the Spartan Company will not see the Cobra forces they had fought in the past."

That was when the Baroness had an idea and with Destro already starting things up she was already given the opening that she needed to place her own plan into action.

"I believe that Cobra will benefit and I will support it…however, I would like to place a plan of my own in conjunction with what Destro is already planning. The formation of a special unit under my command for espionage, infiltration, as well as behind the lines operations without support and what is on hand. And I need that force to be an all female outfit."

That got some surprised looks from everyone in the room, that was soon followed by smirks, though Cobra Commander, with his face hood didn't show anything on his face for the moment. He then spoke to the Baroness to figure out her angle on this.

"May I ask why?"

The Baroness replied.

"For obvious reasons Commander, female operatives have a way of getting information from men if they play the game of seduction and espionage right. After all, I know this for a fact since I am quite good at it myself. These women will be trained to use their own charms and wiles to get information as best they can when we need them. And since they can be taught how to operate in the rear of enemy lines with whatever resources they have on hand and not be too open in their operations, they can be independent and quite capable on their own."

The men thought it over and saw that the Baroness was correct in her estimations and that was enough for Cobra Commander to give his order concerning the situation.

"All right then, we can begin rebuilding Cobra, but this has to be done covertly, I want no word of this to go out to Durendal for that maniac pest to pick up."

The others nodded and soon began to talk about how to allocate facilities and resources for this plan rebuild Cobra from the proverbial chalk board. This was going to be a costly plan, but if it worked, then they were going to be given a much better chance of success.

In the meantime, they were going to go out establish contacts with other groups who were not aligned with them but had the same methods and different philosophies. They needed agents and fronts, willing or otherwise to keep the Joes and the Spartan Company off their backs until they could get their new force fully prepared for their return.

…

For the next few days, Cobra began to pull out from any bases that their leaders deemed to be too draining in resources and instead began to maintain only intelligence gathering outposts with smaller garrison forces. Vehicle assets were pulled back to be refitted and modified as per the new plan to revamp the whole organization's military forces. This was not the only thing as they were also working on deploying field agents to cause trouble in order to distract both the Joes and any other organization that would be coming after them and giving them more problems that they knew that did not need to deal with.

Along the way, they were also getting not only the resources they need, but also they began to put the now more intense and thorough recruitment program proposed by Destro into full effect. This was going to make sure that their next batch of soldiers were no longer going to be easily beaten in combat with the Joes and other forces that they would soon be dealing with in the battle field. Destro and his scientists were already working around the clock to make sure that their boss's plans would be seen and the new technology that they had been developing was soon going to be taken into the field. Most of the agents who were part of Cobra's still existing covert operations branch were also hard at work in getting contacts with other rogue groups to make sure that they kept the Joes and other forces like the October Guard and the Spartan Company busy.

They also took the time to experiment on other technologies and concepts…some of which were breaking ethical and moral boundaries, but they hardly cared for such things that they deemed to trivial. After all, they were a terrorist group and being unethical and amoral was pretty much a common thing for them all. This was going to be the time they needed to rebuild, re-arm, improve and re-train. And they were not going to waste even a moment of this time they had on hand.

…

However, they were not the only ones working on improving their technology as the Spartan himself and Cortana were also working in improving their arsenal as well as making new weapons and systems in their machines to make sure that they will have a number of options that will be key in dealing with Cobra and other threats that were no doubt going to come up to face the two of them. They also decided that they were going to also make sure that they were able to help the Joes.

This was going to be done by working on developing new weapons and also alternative means to do battle with the enemy. They also began to make sure that their company was not only productive but also getting more support from not just the residents of Reach, Montana but to also make sure that the people were all right after the attack made by Cobra. This way they were able to maintain their cover while contributing supplies of their medical products to the Joes to make sure that they were able to get much needed supplies, while they also made sure to keep in eye on the progress being made by the Joes.

Cortana also suggested that they make moves to deploy more covert satellites to keep an eye on the world. Hacking into civilian and military satellites was pretty much child's play for Cortana, but she new that sooner or later, something was going to happen so she needed to have her own set of eyes and ears. This was something that John agreed to as their best course of action and they had spent time to get these satellites into space using the Albatross Drop-ship as a way to deploy the satellites in considerable safety.

The satellites in question were not massive units like the ones currently in use, they were smaller and were also a lot more efficient as the two with their equipment had been able to make smaller but no less effective satellites that were shielded from detection in terms of radar and visual inspection and were also attuned to Cortana's unique signal to make sure that they were able to connect to the A.I and allow her to get all the new data they would need without having to hijack any satellites and avoid being eventually tracked down by anyone lucky enough to actually find them despite their very high security measures.

Apart from that, the new weapons were those used in the UNSCDF and that meant that weapons that were usually reserved for use by the UNSC Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force were present, this also included armor and equipment to further ensure that the group had a number of very useful advantages. This included Marine Body Armor as well as that of the UNSC Army. While these were not at the same level of effectiveness as the ODST armor and that of the MJOLNIR and its add on support components, these were still useful and could be used to disguise the Chief if there was a situation where the MJOLNIR was too much of a recognizable feature or was not present.

There was also some new gear though new in the sense of this reality's time line, this included equipment that had once been seen only in use for the MJOLNIR Mark V but now had been retailored for use in the MJOLNIR Mark VI which naturally would give the Master Chief a whole new slew of options to use in combat situations which he would no doubt soon be stuck in and he would need everything. Manufacturing supplies and more for his vehicles also helped the Spartan and kept him busy as well as keeping an eye on both Cobra and the Joes.

Though Cobra went dark, John and Cortana knew that they were hardly dead and gone as they had spared their leaders before so there was no doubt that sooner or later, they were going to come back into the spotlight, and with who knew what sort of technology and weapons as well as troops. There was no doubt that they were coming back in their minds, after all, if there was one thing both John and Cortana knew to be a constant factor. It was that the bad guys had a very annoying way to come back and hit you where it hurts.

But if Cobra thought that their going dark was going to give them an edge…they were going to get a rude awakening the very second they reared their ugly head. Besides, the two had learned that while Cobra had gone dark, their agents were still about trying to cause brush fire wars and more to keep them and no doubt the Joes busy and off their backs. Normally he would have not bothered, but the brush fire wars Cobra might start might include attacking countries which could be used to fuel their war machine and get recruits to serve in their forces sop he and Cortana were going to have to keep some of those wars from going all the way off the wall since that was naturally the last thing they needed to deal with.

…

As for the Joes themselves, it was not long before they were given a new set of marching orders by the people who supported and funded their group to fight Cobra as well as other terrorist networks around the world.

The first marching order was track down the whereabouts of the Spartan Company and see if there was any possible way to determine not just who was the person or the group of people or organizations supporting them, but to determine just who was their leader and how were they able to operate without any supervision. This had been something that many of them expected since the top brass had been trying to find out just who was the one who was working the Spartan Company behind the scenes.

They knew already that this group had no love for Cobra and as such were more than willing to go after the snakes to beat them to the punch in every sense of the word. However, the idea of some unknown group which was trying to defeat Cobra and yet not have any allegiance to any recognized government was indeed a cause for concern for all parties involved. Their officers had gone to Greece before to track down Spartan Company but found nothing there at all.

The Joes also had to deal with the fact that while a number of them were happy with the idea of having a new set of allies to help them deal with Cobra, there were also a number of them who had doubts on the actions taken by Spartan Company when it concerned Cobra. This group believed that there was a chance that this new group could be pawns of Cobra who were being funded somehow to make it look like they were potential allies and then when they least expected it, they were going to be stabbed in the back.

The others who didn't agree with it stated that they were not the enemy since there was no way that Cobra would wantonly kill their own troops, and there was the fact that there was no way that there were soldiers like those in Cobra. There were BATs but they were not like those soldiers, it was considered too expensive for Cobra to make BATs who could fight like actual soldiers. And also there was the fact that Cobra was not exactly gifted with the resources to make was they determined, despite the science saying otherwise, personnel shielding of all things.

The second order of business was the need to begin upgrading their technology, the top brass, as well as General Hawk stated that they needed to upgrade the overall arsenal of the Joes in order to give them a much better chance of countering Cobra. Their arsenals were effective but they knew that they needed newer technology as well as weapons since there was no telling what those snakes were up to. And if they ever found out that Spartan Company were indeed a threat, though many of the Joes hoped that was not the case, they would have weapons and technology as a way to even up the odds.

The third and apparently last set of marching orders was to get enough training to make sure that if and when they got their new tools and weapons, they were more than able to use them effectively in combat. That was a very important facet for the Joes as their new weapons and equipment as well as possibly vehicles were all new and making mistakes on them was not going to make things any easier for them.

…

It was not long before all three were in a multi-front race with one another, with all three trying to research new tools and technology, and also upgrade current technology to make them more effective, maintaining secrecy from one another, and also dealing with outside matters. But for the Spartan and Cortana, this situation came sooner rather than later as a situation had just occurred and it seemed that they were going to go in hot for this one.

…

In a flying Pelican over the Pacific Ocean…

As John looked over the information he gazed at the holo-still image and spoke to Cortana as he was suiting up and using some of the new gear that they had been able to make and field test during Cobra going dark for the past few weeks. This was a kidnapping, already a vile crime in its own…but it was the main victim that got the team's full attention.

"She was kidnapped?"

"Afraid so, the kidnappers appear to be connected to some white slavery rings operating somewhere in Europe though they have branches in Asia, that's where we're going. These guys seem to have no idea just who they managed to kidnap though there might have been a leak in the security net around our target of rescue."

John sighed as he checked his newly manufactured MA37 ICWS Assault Rifle and also carrying a M392 Designated Marksman Rifle. Usually both weapons were no longer being used by anyone but the UNSC Army however, Cortana decided that it was better that he used a more diverse arsenal to minimize the risk of being recognized by anyone. He also carried a pair of Combat Knives in holsters on his shoulders for easy reach as well as a pair of M7S on his thighs. He was going in heavy with a large rucksack filled with ammunition and supplies and this was normally not how he operated, but the weapons and ammunition could be handy considering where they were going.

"How exactly was she captured?"

"Apparently the woman was with her friends on some sort of special excursion, turns out that the guys who were the hosts had actually been replaced by agents of the slavery ring. They took out the guards and disabled the tracking device when they found it. So far they haven't been located so we're not dealing with a band of drug crazed nuts here John. The fact that they were able to pull this off without anyone knowing about it in the media in the US means that they've got some serious muscle…might even have support from Cobra to boot if they had the data to go ahead with this action."

As John looked at the woman, he felt some measure of worry as he read her file, she was too good a person to suffer what fate awaited her in that location. He then spoke to Cortana about the kidnapped woman as he knew that this target was by far the most important person to her father…who happened to have some VERY serious assets to send out..

"Isn't this the Joes' department?"

"Normally yeah, but they got themselves tuck on red tape and more, considering the location and where it happens to be. There's no doubt that there is going to be some serious repercussions if they came to this place in force and also considering who are there, having the Joes there is like lighting a fire in a storage room filled to the rafters with high explosives that are improperly stored. So we're going in to clean up the mess so to speak and see if we can't make their lives a whole lot easier. And besides, considering the location we're going to…time is not on our side if we want to save the target and possibly her friends as well."

"Considering this area's track record and the people who call that place home, most normal people would consider not bothering with the idea of going in there covertly and just bomb the place all the way to the Stone Age twice."

"True, but the target is going to be located there, along with the other potential targets of rescue so bombing is out of the question. And naturally, deploying forces there, covert or otherwise with identifying marks is just like painting a target mark on your own chest and letting others shoot you. And the people there are not part of this kidnapping attempt and are innocent…relatively speaking of course."

The Spartan snorted at that and replied.

"No kidding, that place will be interesting to be going to in more ways than one, I'll give it that much at the very least. The BAT team is ready for this kind of operation?"

"They're here with you right now and are more than able to hold their own with your smarts being their core program, but this is a covert op which is why we managed to strap on that Active Stealth Camouflage upgrade on the MJOLNIR. Besides, having the BATs there might be a bit much and you might stick out a lot more by leading a robotic commando unit in there. They'll be on standby to back you up if things come to worse, though like you said, considering the location's track record and the people who call that place home, that particular scenario might come sooner than you might expect. Be careful down there big guy, and make sure to avoid going in too deep in that place. The last thing we need is fighting all the wrong people despite their records, we'll deal with them at a better time. "

The Spartan nodded a bit as he looked at the approaching area before him, as soon as he was sure that the Pelican was well of the city's radar grid and the scanners showed no one in the area looking up, the Spartan got out the rappelling rope and harness, got himself into position and soon was out of the back of the Pelican and rappelling down to the ground. It took a while but soon the Spartan was on the ground and soon the Pelican was out of sight.

John knew that Cortana would be coordinating the arrival of backup soon and his task was to secure the package and make it out for extraction from this place. Most people who had not known much about the place would have called it a city like any other in Asia, but John had read the records and files that Cortana had been able to pull out about the place and he knew that the place was anything but a regular city.

The city had more than it's fair share of criminals who actually made up most of the powerful parties in the city and all of them were armed with criminal records long enough to go around the world at least ten times. It was one place he would have gladly avoided since he hardly think it was worth anything to him. That and it being filled with criminals made the place less than appealing to the Spartan. But he had a job to do and no doubt he was going to get some work done in this city soon that would work well to benefit people in the long run.

As he took out his M392 and moved out to the outskirts of the city to begin his work, he didn't hide his sigh of dislike for the city and the people there. Though he was sure of one thing…

The people of Roanapur Thailand were going to be in for a very interesting time the second the bullets and more start flying.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

This chapter will be the signal that in the next coming chapters, the Master Chief will be having time to upgrade his arsenal. This will also give him more chances to be ready for anything that Cobra would throw at him. This will also apply to the Joes and to Cobra as they too will be upgrading their arsenals to give them a stronger chance of success in battle with both themselves and others as well.

In the coming chapters, there will come a time that Joe will try to locate the Master Chief and Cortana to try and find out more of Spartan Company and even try to find out what sort of technology they have. This is possible due to the fact that eventually there will be people in the governments who will want to get their hands on the technology possessed by the Spartan and there will no doubt be encounters between the Joes and John as well as Cortana which might not be too welcome.

It's natural that there will be corrupt people in the governments who will want to get their hands on the technology of the Spartan and use it for their own ends or sell it on the black market for profit. This will allow John to track down the enemies that lurk in the ranks of the supposed good guys. This will also allow the Chief to develop an idea on who in the governments he can at least trust though he had no intention to reveal himself just yet to anyone. And in turn, this will also allow him to meet more…interesting people.

…

One such situation is this new idea pitched to me that will allow me to have a side trip to one country in Asia that would be familiar with fans of anime. No it's not Japan for obvious reasons. The location in question is Roanapur Thailand…that's right, the Spartan is going to drop by the criminal capital in the anime world of Black Lagoon. This was pitched to me by one of you, my readers so I decided to take a stab at it and see just how this might turn out.

The mission is to do a rescue, but that mission will become complicated halfway so the Chief is going to have to fight his way through the city and meet the characters while protecting his charge and make his way to evacuate the package who happens to be quite an important person to a number of people.

And you can bet that once I reveal just who this person is, you can bet that the crime groups of Roanapur are going to be in for quite a surprise when the Spartan starts moving through the city and fighting to keep his charge from biting it early.

As for John, if anyone is going to ask me if he is going to be affected by the corruption and crime there in Roanapur, keep in mind who we're talking about here. He's a three decade veteran of a war that had humanity on the edge of the abyss, has seen horrors and death to a scale that would make even the number of people killed in the place in question seem trivial, faced armies of aliens who were hell bent on genocide before the truth came out, and an extragalactic parasite race that seeks to consume all life. So if you expect him to be shocked by that, I doubt he's going to care much for that.

He's got a mission and he aims to complete it one way or the other. Of course, he will probably have a number of the gangs after his backside due to him causing a large amount of property damage since there will be guys who will try to slow him down…unaware of who they are dealing with. As for how he'll deal with the characters like Black Lagoon, Hotel Moscow, and the rest…well, let's just say that it's going to be interesting.

And besides, I can bet that there will be guys here who would love to see how John stacks up to say, Revy, Roberta, Shenhua, Sawyer, Balalaika and her group, as well as the others. This should be interesting to see since they will be facing a Spartan II Commando in battle and who happens to not have any qualms of ending an enemy permanently though he does know when a fight is needed or not.

Of course, John could just ignore them and get down to doing the mission and getting things done, but where's the fun in ending it too early?

So in that case, expect a large amount of swearing and fights in the coming chapters if and when I decide to make this chapter.

…

See you on the next chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

G.I Joe X Halo

Disclaimer: I don't own either universes all right? Thank you.

Chapter 10

Part 1

VIP in Roanapur…

( ): Thoughts

…

In the Black Lagoon Trading Company Building…

"Bored…"

"Boresville…"

"Fucking bored…'

"AH! I CAN'T TAKE THIS SHIT ANYMORE!"

Benny sighed at that and looked up a bit from his computer and spoke to himself.

"Here we go again…"

Revy's anger was fairly obvious to everyone in the room though most of them already knew why the dual wielding gun expert of the company was acting this way. There had been no jobs or anything since that whole incident with Roberta and Garcia. The Columbian Cartel that had played a part in the death of Garcia's father and Roberta's employer were still broken and recovering and they were pretty much in the dirt for the time being. As for the others, they were still recovering from the rest of the battle and it was good news at least that Roberta had stopped her rampage and was soon going to be going home with her Master.

Balalaika and Hotel Moscow were also recovering from the whole ordeal and so were the Triads as well as the rest of the people involved with the whole incident. As for Rock, he was happy to some degree that the carnage had not hit levels that he could no longer stomach. He did recall his conversation with Garcia's other maid Fabiola and had to admit that there was a part of him that was getting influenced by his time here in Roanapur.

(Am I going to change too much? Will I lose everything that makes me…me?)

Rock might have been reading a book, but this dilemma had been in his mind for a very long time, every day he had seen depravity, death, corruption, crime, inhumanity and more. It was like he was in a sea of blackness that was soon going to seep into every part of his body, mind, and soul. It made him wonder if he was going to turn into a monster at some point in his life here in Roanapur. He then sighed a bit and placed down the book and moved his head to the side and groaned at the sound of his neck popping a bit from the stiffness. This told him that he had been in this position for so long that his joints got stiff.

He then got up and moved to take a look at the city outside to look at it and think about how he got here.

He thought that he had gotten Stockholm Syndrome in staying here when he was taken prisoner by Revy and maybe he was right. And while he was getting used to it, there was still a great part of him that stuck to the things he felt were morally right and just. It was ironic that he was the kind of guy who believed in justice, compassion, mercy, freedom, choice, morality, and peace, living in what would be considered that he was here in what would be considered a hive of scum, trash, villainy and more.

He wondered if he could actually go back to the life he once knew and be a man who was different, wipe the slate clean as it were, but he had already burned his bridges in that time with Yukio and Ginji. There was no going back, and yet every time he thought that he was going to change things and people for the better, they died, Yukio died after losing Ginji, and Gretel died after she had finally began to lose the evil that turned her from a young girl into a being of darkness.

(Can I really stay here?)

It was then that he felt someone behind him and he heard the voice of his boss in this line of work.

"You okay Rock?"

Rock turned to see Dutch and gave a slight nod and tried to smile a bit.

"I'm fine, just decided to take look at the city and think."

Dutch sighed and replied.

"Look, spare me the lies and tell me how you feel Rock, you're not fine you know."

"What makes you say that?"

"Didn't I say that you can spare me the lies? Talk to me here."

Rock sighed and replied as he looked at the city and replied.

"I don't know what is going to happen to me if I stay here any longer Dutch, I feel like every time I try to do something I know is the right thing to do, or make what I know is a good choice, there is something that turns everything I've gone around and spits it back into my face. Every thing here is so filled with corruption and more that I sometimes think that I am going to lose my mind and turn into a lunatic."

Dutch listened and took of his shades, something he rarely did and replied.

"I can understand that, to be honest, we're all changed people and sometimes we don't like who we are. But you should know that you happen to be a lot more important than you think."

"Hmph, define important, I might be an excellent accountant, negotiator, and finance manager, but I am just a man, and also a man who happens to have a good moral fiber in him and happens to be as Revy calls…'A fucking goody two shoes' in most terms. I feel like every time I'm here, I lose every part of myself and…honestly Dutch…it scares the hell out of me. I feel like one day, I am going to wake up and look at myself and see someone who is a different version of me."

The African American listened and then spoke to the Japanese man, he could see just where Rock was going with this. In all honesty, he felt that Rock was more than just those things that he had mentioned, and in truth, he was a lot more dangerous than anyone would think. His skills and his abilities were beyond useful, and while he knew that the man was no fighter like any of the men he knew in the city or anywhere, he was someone who didn't need a gun to kill someone.

They might say words can never hurt someone, but after seeing the two instances that Rock had been using words instead of lead, he did things that would considered impossible, Dutch knew that words had power. And when those words came out of Rock's mouth, no bullet in the world could be more powerful than his words. The fact of the matter was that Rock also happened to be seen by many of the people here in high regard even if he didn't know it.

Balalaika respected Rock's talents and his skills as a negotiator, and the fact that despite facing her with her aiming a gun at his face, he still managed to convince her to stop her actions and change her plans. It took a lot to talk her down and this man who was not a soldier like her or Boris had done that even with the fact she had a gun to his face. She respected that a great deal since it took courage to face death and yet stick one's plan and principles even if Rock said he was a villain like her. She knew better and knew that Rock had a plan to free Yukio and despite her nature, she did admit to Dutch that privately she hoped that things had turned out differently that Yukio had taken a chance at a normal life.

Chang respected Rock as well, not only because of his skills, but because Rock was actually the only man who had the gall to call him an inhuman scumbag and make him laugh out loud at that. Chang also saw Rock as an honest man and that was rare in every sense. And the fact that when he stated that Rock's actions could not just determine the fates of Garcia and Roberta, but of all Roanapur, that statement proved to be dead on accurate.

Even Yolanda stated that he was lucky to have Rock in his group, as he had proven to be able to actually get them proper deals and supplies even when she would try to rip them off. She saw Rock as an intelligent and decent man, and such men like Rock were a very rare thing in Roanapur, almost like finding a Dodo bird in the middle of nowhere.

And even Benny said to him that there were things about Rock that actually made almost everyone in Roanapur wary of him, even fearful at times.

"You're a lot more than you think Rock. To be honest, you're the heart around here."

Rock looked at the African American and spoke out.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, for one thing, we would not have made it far without your help, oh sure we got along well enough before you came here. But that time we were on a knife's edge at times and business matters for us sucked as well. You came and things worked out for us. Besides…you might believe it or not, but you're probably the most respected guy here in Roanapur right now."

Rick raised an eyebrow and replied.

"And how do you figure that?"

Dutch sighed a bit and replied.

"Let's put it this way, me, Benny, and Revy are all jaded people, and even if it sounds like total crap to some. Having a guy like you around is a good thing to balance us out. Revy might not show it, but she does treat you a bit differently now. She has taken risks that go against her nature as it were to keep you alive. And even if she's still the same woman to kill anyone without any hesitation, she has changed somewhat. As for the others out here, they respect you, it took guts for you to convince Balalaika to change her plans, it takes just as much guts to call Chang an inhuman scumbag in his face and make him laugh about it, and brains to convince Yolanda to give us fair deals."

"And let's not forget that out of all the guys here in Roanapur, you're the only man Garcia trusts, that says a lot on how important you are. And to be honest, you're probably the only decent and honorable man around here, and the fact that you do the right thing just makes you a lot more human to the eyes of others. And not to sound like a smart ass, but you're the only bright spot here in this place and that is a good thing. Think about that for a while, and try not to hide what you feel man, it's not good to do that."

Rock thought it over and replied.

"All right, but I never thought that you would be willing to listen to me and act like that Dutch."

The man laughed a bit and replied.

"Hey, it's truth after all, anyhow, I hope that it's enough for you to hear, and don't make me do that again, I'm your boss, not your shrink okay?"

Rock laughed at that and decided to look out into the city once more and considered Dutch's words.

…

In the streets…

John looked through the buildings while using the Active Stealth module on his MJOLNIR as he was moving in the dark. It was still night time and this gave the Spartan the advantage as the Active Stealth system was more effective in night operations since there was not much light to accidentally make the stealth system a bit more obvious to the casual observers who might get lucky and spot the shimmering effect of the cloaking system.

Right now he was busy tracking down the target and he had a few leads. Cortana's data showed that the subject was being held in one of three adjacent complexes and there were a number of guards there. This told him that this group was either well known in this place or were smart enough to remain covert, he never took his enemies for granted and assumed that he was dealing with professionals and quickly made his way through the shadows while using the MJOLNIR to pick up anything that could help him possibly locate his target.

So far the Active Stealth Camouflage systems module was working fine and he was making sure to avoid any people and traffic as he approached the complex area itself. So far Cortana was busy trying to make sure that she got the right information. As soon as they was done and closer to the complex, John went to security mode as he needed to hide and allow the Active Stealth Camouflage module to cool down so he hid in the shadows Cortana used the sensors to listen in to the conversations of the guards there and as soon as she got the data that she knew she needed, she then spoke to the Spartan.

"John., we have a confirmed location of the target, she's currently at the highest building there, at the tenth floor at best."

The Spartan nodded as he moved from his location and went dark once more and moved in quickly and quietly, hoping to avoid possible patrols in the area of the building that he was soon going to infiltrate. He managed to do just that and climbed to a nearby complex that seemed to be partially under construction or had been under construction and had been abandoned. The building was only at least eight feet, but that hardly bothered the Spartan as he made it quietly to the eight floor. The building had a few vagrants but they didn't notice him in his stealth mode so he focused on the task at hand.

Once he was at the roof, he spotted a large number of metal frame bars and there were tightly lashed together and were a good twenty feet, the exact length of the building he was on from, the other.

John then had an idea and Cortana knew just what was cooking in the mind of her Spartan.

"That's original…I used to think that usually only worked for cartoon shows way back in the old days."

"Leaping up there is going to cause a racket, Active Stealth or not."

"And laying those down to make a bridge isn't?"

"Nope, not if we do this the hard way."

The A.I laughed at that and replied.

"For you, it's always been the hard way, let's do this thing and hope we get this right."

The Spartan placed down his M392 and then lifted the combined bars with some effort and began to move them over the ledge. The Spartan was able to calculate the distance and where the best place was to place the bars to form a solid bridge for him to move over and get to the building nearby. He placed them gently down and when he was assured that placing the make shift bridge had not exceeded the sound levels to make people here it. Once he was sure that it was structurally sound, the Spartan moved quickly, using the magnetic soles of his boots to keep him on the metal bars. Once he was there, he moved silently over the roof and began to look about, his audio sensors however then guided him to listen to what was going on down the floor.

…

In the upper floor of the building…

The man looked at their prisoner and leered at the woman who was still currently tied op and was blind folded and gagged while still wearing her t-shirt, vest and jeans. Despite the plain clothing, the woman was attractive, straw berry blonde hair and attractive features. Not to mention the fact that she was well build and stacked, not too big in the chest area, but enough to get a man's blood flowing. He was not the only one looking at the woman who was bound and gagged as the other guards were enjoying the sight of the woman as well. He wore the regular clothes that one would associate with someone in a gang of some sort. However, he carried himself like a professional though not the friendly kind and he was armed with what appeared to be a knife in a holster and a Desert Eagle in the other.

His guards were also armed with what appeared to be MP5 Sub machine Guns and wore what appeared to tactical combat harnesses over their clothing, showing that they were not the regular kind of guards one found in a gang.

The woman had recently been treated by a man who looked like the proverbial mad scientist one saw in those freaky movies. But he acted professional and decided to take what he needed and did so with the use of needles to take blood. That and nothing else, afterwards, the man gave them their payment and said that he and the rest of his group were now free to do what they wanted and desired with the woman.

He did wonder just what that guy's story was, why take only the blood from her and let them have her for themselves.

(He knows who she is and who her old man is…but why does he bother only with the blood? Only the top bosses know and they are not in town at the moment. Hell, don't matter anyway. Those fellow eggheads want only blood samples and then give us this babe to do with, why bother?)

With that, he took out a knife and cut off both the gag and the blonde fold and that allowed the woman to finally see him and his group. The woman shook her head and glared at him and his group and shouted in no doubt a very angry voice.

"Who the hell are you creeps? Where are my friends?"

The men laughed and the leader of the group spoke once more.

"Can your mouth woman, the only reason you are still alive and not being beaten up or worse is the fact that you might be more useful alive than dead."

The woman glared and replied once more.

"Who the hell are you? I want an answer right now!"

The man then replied.

"The name's Barret to you bitch, and that is all you're getting out of me, these are my men and I."

"Where are my friends damn you? ! What have you done with them? !"

Barret grinned and replied.

"They're not here right now if you want to know, and they're alive, or at least they will be for the next few weeks and we haven't done ANYTHING to them yet, but that is soon going to change. By then they are going to fetch us and the bosses a fine profit as well as some fun."

You sick bastards…I swear that when I get my hands on you…"

Barret then moved forward and grabbed the woman by the face and sneered as he replied.

"You're going to kill me? Hah…you're not going to get the chance, not if you care for your friends at all."

The strawberry blonde woman glared even more and replied to that.

"What have you done to them? !"

Barret liked the fire in this one and replied.

"I don't know actually, that's up to the bosses, I'm one of their specialist officers after all, but I can say that your friends are going to be really useful when we sell them or get them to work."

"You fucking bastards… you sick demented bastards"

"But right now, you should be more concerned about doing what we say little lady if you want to live and see them again soon. We know who you are actually and right now, we don't give a damn. You're ours now, and not even your daddy is going to know that where you happen to be in this city, Michelle Graham."

The woman seemed to remain calm and then replied.

"So you know who I am and who my father is…so why did you kidnap me? You already know that he has more than enough power to hunt you and your group down. And when he does…you're either going to be dead or rotting in prison for this crime you've done."

"We might, but we had some…help, how else did you think we took out your precious hosts, then you guards and kill the others and then take you and your friends?"

Michelle was getting more enraged by this but kept her cool as she spoke.

"What the heck are you going to do to me then? If you're not going to ransom me to my father, then what is going to happen to me?"

Barret looked at his men and they all had smirks on their faces and smirks like those meant only one thing in the minds of anyone who looked at them. Michelle was one such person and she gasped a bit and that was picked up by the leader and his guards in the room. He then smiled and replied.

"That right honey…we're going to have fun with you, and we're going to make sure that it is going to last for a while until the bosses decide where to send you to work. Besides, as much fun as it would be for our clients to have you…untouched, they're not exactly that picky when they want to be."

Michelle lost her cool at this point and tried to free herself but the ropes that bound her to the chair held fast and kept her there on the floor and that angered her even more. She then spat out a curse and looked at Barret and his goons with venom and hate in her eyes as well as in her voice, she was not going to be some victim of all this, she'd rather die first.

"Screw you! You touch me and I'll cut off your balls and your dick myself!"

"Hahahahahah!"

The guards and Barret laughed as he replied after his own laughter subsided.

"You think that I am going to let you do that to me bitch? I am going to enjoy breaking you and making you into nothing but a doll. By the time we're done with you, you'll never be the same ever again, and no one, not even your daddy will want anything to do with you. Not that he's going to ever find you, even with all those assets of his, once our allies are done…but now then, let's have some fun eh?"

Barret then moved in and quickly held Michelle's face by his hand and got spit in the face by the undeniably irate. He smiled and replied by forcibly kissing the still helpless woman. Michelle struggled and tried to free herself, unmindful of the fact that the ropes were biting into her body and her arms. All she wanted was to kick this man and kick him, his goons might be armed but she didn't care, she'd rather die first.

Barret then moved away and smiled as the woman began to spit and cough after he had just forced himself on her, not like that just yet, but there will be time for that soon. He looked at her as she glared with fire in her eyes and that made him even more eager to have fun with her.

Michelle spat out some more in a desperate bid to get the taste of that bastard's mouth out of her own and she glared at him once more.

"You bastard! I'll fucking kill you for this! I swear it!"

Barret retorted to that as he licked his lips once more.

"You can say that all you like, but by the end of this day or more, you are going to be calling me your master if the bosses will allow me to have my chance on you along with my boys here, it's been some time after all. Once that is over, we can sell you to the other whorehouses around here or to those clubs, they would kill to have someone like you in their group…or maybe those film makers would love to have you in their films, both the ones who want to see you be the plaything of all the men, or as..a soon to be corpse, either way, you're not going to be here long."

"NEVER!"

"Say what you want bitch…you're not going to be leaving, and neither are your friends…especially here in Roanapur. Now then…let's see if you look just as tasty without them clothes on eh? This is going to be a very good day for all of us, just try not to move too much, scarring you is not a good way to make you look sexy when the clients get to buy you and also your friends."

Michelle screamed out in anger as she tried desperately to free herself despite the pain she was feeling in her hands. She would rather die than let this happen to her, not like this. She had to find her friends no matter what happened.

….

Unfortunately for Barret and his guards, they were not alone…

On the roof of the building, John had managed to listen through the hole of the roof as the roof still managed to hold his weight. The plans Barret and his men had for the woman sickened the Spartan and he knew that now was the right time to drop in and put a stop to this nonsense. He scanned the building's roof and spotted one area that was more prone to collapse. Once he was sure that he was ready, he moved towards it carefully and leaped down hard.

…

BOOM!

"WHAT THE?"

Barret turned up to see the roof above suddenly collapse and some of the roofing tiles came down as well as a large cloud of smoke and debris that soon filled the area before him. He swore and tried to find out what had just happened. The only answer he got was a massive fist coming from the cloud and grabbing him by the throat and suddenly lifting him up off of his feet. Before he could say anything, the fist gripped his throat tight, cutting off his air supply, all he could see was some sort of weapon come out from the cloud moments later and soon the roar of bullets came out.

There were shouts around him and soon he heard the sounds of pain that lasted only seconds as he then saw himself being held by a man…or was it even a man, all he could see was a massive armored arm where the hand that held his neck in a death grip and soon he saw a massive figure in armor and then he saw a faceplate made of a gold like material looking at him and showing him his own terrified face. He tried to speak but he was not able to get another air to say anything at this point.

The Master Chief however had more than enough of the man and without any hesitation tightened his grip until he saw that the man he had in his grip die from asphyxiation and then the Spartan crushed the man's neck as the sounds of bone told him that his grip had worked. He then tossed the man aside to the nearby window and the sound of smashing glass was heard and soon the man fell down the ten floor building and landed in a very bloody mess, right in front of his group's other guard members.

With that man out of the picture, the Spartan turned to face the woman bound to the chair while he was cradling his M392 DMR after loading it with a fresh clip of ammunition.

…

Michelle Graham looked at the form of her rescuer and couldn't help but gasp at the sight. The man or if he was even a human wore a suit of armor that seemed like the kind one saw in the comic books, but seemed to be very real. The weapons he had on him also seemed to be very advanced…no way was this man a regular person. And when he turned to face her, she looked at his face, only to find that the helmet was armed with a golden visor that hid his face, showing only her face back to her, along with her shocked expression. It was then that the behemoth of a man spoke to her and in a very professional manner.

"Are you all right Ma'am?"

The tone was of a military man through and through, professional, calm, relaxed, and it seemed that he knew her. This told her that maybe her rescue did arrive after all.

But she was not going to take any chances and spoke seriously once she recovered her wits.

"Who are you?"

John replied, still using his cover name as leader of Spartan Company.

"My real name is not important Ma'am, but I can give you my codename, Leonidas, I am leader of Spartan Company."

"Spartan Company…my father didn't send you?"

"No Ma'am, let me get you free."

Michelle shook her head and spoke evenly.

"Not to sound like I'm being…ungrateful since you did save me, but I am not going anywhere with a man who I know next to nothing about."

John could sense that despite her supposedly delicate nature, she had some steel in her bones and nerves, and considering where she was right now, that was either commendable or foolhardy. He sighed a bit to himself and replied.

"I know that you have reason to be wary of me Ma'am, but I assure you that I will get you out this place safely and get you back to your father. You're father might not have sent me,but I am here to get you out of this place."

The strawberry blonde woman looked at her rescuer closely, trying to find out anything that she could despite the fact his face and body language were unreadable in that armored suit of his and that faceplate. But she could tell from his voice that he meant what he was saying. She sighed a bit and nodded to the man.

"All right, you can untie me…Leonidas."

John nodded and took out one of his Knives and cut the woman loose from her bonds, the specially laser sharpened knife having no difficulties cutting the ropes that bound her. Once she was free, Michelle groaned a bit and John looked at her carefully, assessing the woman for any injuries she might have been given by her captors, and while he saw nothing as of yet, he decided to ask her if she needed medical treatment and if the men had done anything to her while she was their prisoner.

"Did they harm you Ma'am?"

The blonde looked at him and replied with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Look Leonidas…I am not that old, I'm still twenty four for crying out loud so stop calling me Ma'am."

"Sorry, just showing respect that's all."

Michelle sighed and nodded at that.

"It's all right, anyway, I don't think I was injured too badly apart from that greasy bastard trying to kiss me and my rope burns, but I did recall that they took some…blood from me."

That sent a warning bell into John's mind and he spoke.

"Did you say blood?"

"Yeah, I recall that when they had me prisoner earlier, they took what I think was some sort of syringe…maybe more. At first I thought they were going to inject me with drugs or something, but instead they drew blood from me since I didn't feel anything invading my body at the time. That was when I felt them take my blood, I felt that they did it at least…three to four times as well. Afterwards…well you showed up and rescued me."

This made John wary, no slavery gang worth their salt would take just blood, normally that would have meant that they could have tested her for possible drug use. But he knew that from Michelle's bio-files, she was clean and had no record of illegal substance use or drinking alcohol of any kind as of yet, even if she was of age to be able to legally drink.

That meant that there was more to this kidnapping than what was on the surface of the whole mess. Kidnapping in itself was already a serious crime, even more so considering who Michelle was, but this unknown taking of her blood for whatever reason was sending warning bells in his head. He then placed that aside for later as he knew that his current priority was to get her out of the building and find her a safe place to evacuate and get her back to her father before he really got angry.

"We need to get moving and find a safe place to hide in before I can call for extraction."

"Hold it…did you find my friends?"

"No I'm afraid not, you were the priority in my mission after all."

Michelle looked furious and despite the mad dwarfing her in terms of height she replied.

"Listen buster, I might be the objective of your mission here, but I am not going to let my friends who have been with me since childhood rot in this hellhole. I need your help to get them out."

"That is not my mission."

Michelle then replied seriously.

"It is now, I am asking you to help my friends, I'll never be able to live with myself if I live and they rot in this place. I know about Roanapur and it's reputation Leonidas, and I'll be damned if it chews up and spits out my friends when I can do something to help them."

John saw that there was no way that he could convince her otherwise, he then turned as he heard the footsteps of the others in the building. He got his M392 into combat position and spoke to the woman.

'Stay behind me then, we won't be of much help to your friends if we're dead."

…

The woman did not argue and soon got behind the Spartan as the door was soon opened and the Spartan quickly spotted the incoming slaver guards armed with AKM Assault Rifles. The Spartan quickly took them down with several precise shots to the head. Once the men were down the Spartan quickly moved out and scanned the guards to make sure that they were dead. Once they were down and out, he decided that they were going to have to move quickly to the lower floor of the building and get a ride and locate a viable safe house which he could at least hide the woman he was escorting.

He moved ahead and did so carefully, he spotted two more of the slavers and quickly shot them down and made sure that they were not going to be getting up with two shots to the head. He spotted them to be armed with HK G3s that used the same ammunition as his own MA37 ICWS Assault Rifle and M392 Designated Marksman Rifle.

That fact made John decide to scavenge their weapons and take as much ammunition has he could since resupply might not take some time. He however continued to clear the room and made sure to do it quickly as it was not going to be long before more of the slavers were going come in and figure out that they were under attack.

The Spartan moved into a nearby floor which was near the fifth floor after clearing out more of the floors, leaving bodies and blood all over the place, and spotted a hallway and quickly told Michelle to stop and cover her ears with some gestures. The woman thankfully obeyed and that told him that she got some training in keeping calm in situations like this one and for that he was naturally thankful. He quickly reverted to using his MA37 and gently cracked a nearby mirror and used a piece to look at the hall via the corner. He spotted at least six of the men, armed with HK G3 Assault Rifles getting ready to move in and try to attack.

He made a quick study and determined that there was a chance they were wearing Kevlar underneath their clothing and no doubt were better prepared since they were going in what appeared to be some sort of formation, three moving forward and dropping to one knee and then the others would move ahead with them providing gaps and then those three would do the same and allow the others to advance. This meant that if the first was attacked, they could fire and be supported by the other group.

Cortana noted that idea and replied.

"I guess that means these guys are not amateurs moving in formation like that. Go for it John, this corridor's the only way through to the next room."

"Right."

The Spartan got up and quickly moved as the group moved half way through the corridor. They spotted him and quickly fired their weapons. John still had the glass shard in his hand and quickly tossed it like a throwing knife at one of the men in the back and scored a direct hit as the glass hard was now in the man's neck. The Spartan could see him clutching the glass that impaled his throat and dropping dead as he quickly fired his MA37 at the men, one dropped dead from three shots, one in the arm to weaken him, another in the neck and the other in the head.

The surviving men tried to fire their weapons en masse on the Spartan, but the Master Chief's speed was too much as he barreled into them like a freight train. Their bullets had been able to damage the Spartan's shields, but his blinding assault had made it difficult for all of their bullets to hit him hard enough. The next man got kicked hard in the chest, the sound of shattering bone was heard in that instant as the man was sent flying off the floor from his kneeling position and hitting the roof with a very loud crack and actually getting stuck there.

Another man was quickly introduced to the butt of the MA37 and had his face driven into the nearby all where he was now stuck in, and there was little chance of escape as he had a shattered skull as well. The next man was quickly shot full of holes by the Spartan and dropped dead after moving with each bullet hit. And the last slaver was quickly kicked in the knee by the Spartan, all of the bones there were shattered, making the man shout out.

John quickly smashed him to the side with a powerful kick to the side that shattered his ribs and sent him into the next wall with the wall breaking down and the man hitting the floor hard and in great pain. The man tried to recover, but got shot in the head by a single shot from the Spartan's MA37 for his trouble. Once they were dead, the Spartan moved back and recovered Michelle and soon they were on their way.

But not before the Spartan took one of the G3 Rifles and placed it on the other side of the rucksack. He then began to remove the clips from the other G3 Rifles as well as the clips from the men he had killed easily and then placed them into his rucksack. Once he was done, they moved on and when they were near moving to the lower floors of the building he would quickly dispatch anyone else who were deemed as targets. There were several times that a band of the slavers tried to set up ambushes, but the Spartan either bypassed them or went in through them and tore the opposition to bits before making his way out to secure the building and guide Michelle out from the area to safety. He also made sure to prioritize his targets, aiming for the ones who might have a clean shot at Michelle and also keeping her away from windows to minimize the risk of her possibly being exposed to sniper fire.

As for Michelle, she could still feel the adrenaline running through her system and the fact that she was still in danger didn't mean that she was going to run out of it any time soon, But she kept a level head and followed her rescuer as best she could manage.

…

All the while the sounds of gunfire, screams, and falling bodies were all over the place as the group found themselves being slaughtered and taken down by one man. As soon as the smoke cleared with each floor the Spartan cleared with bullets, Combat Knives, fists, kicks, and more, he was now in the last floor, but he stopped and quickly told Michelle to stay where she was and look down to the area to see if there was an ambush ahead of them. The ground floor was filled with a lot of cargo space and there was a nearby truck. John looked carefully and spotted several people hiding behind the crates and what not, and they were armed with G3 Rifles and apparently had more serious Kevlar vests on them, usually the kind used by SWAT teams.

The second the lights went dead in the ground floor that he realized their intent and Cortana noted that as well.

"They must be armed with NV goggles, smart of them."

"Yeah, time to go dark then."

He moved back to the upper floor and spoke to Michelle.

"Stay here, and keep quiet, they've got an ambush for us in the dark."

"They're using NV goggles aren't they?"

The Spartan nodded and as soon as he did so, he placed down his MA37 and took out both his M7S SMGs and extended their stocks and quickly activated the Active Stealth Camouflage module, surprising the woman as he spoke to her.

"Stay here."

…

In the lower floor, the slavers got their NV goggles on and were ready to aim and fire the very second they spotted their target, they would have to avoid shooting the woman they kidnapped as she was still good merchandise and it would suck to have to kill her and not do what they wanted. But they now focused on what they had to do though they were still confused as to how their hideout from the rest of the Roanapur groups were found out and suddenly attacked without them knowing.

The first pair who were out in the front tried to locate the target, but before they could react, they suddenly felt being hit in the chest and dropping dead, the last thing they saw was some sort of…shimmering effect that moved over them before they were wrapped in total darkness. The others saw that and they were stunned by seeing their comrades suddenly drop dead for no reason quickly. The next pair were soon joining their comrades the first was shot in the chest and the other got shot in the right eye. This was seen by the others and soon panic was setting into them and after another two were killed, all hell broke loose as the men panicked and began to fire into the darkness in random patterns, spraying the entire room with bullets and bullet casings and soon the area was alight with fire and flashes of fire and gunpowder.

The Spartan however was not bothered by this as he quickly moved through the morass and methodically killed who he could see in the darkness as he was currently using the Thermal Vision of the MJOLNIR Mark VI to track his victims and terminate them before they could make a counter move to his hidden assault. The next pair of slavers suddenly were kicked hard and both sent flying back into the cargo containers behind them and then they were shot with precise shots into the neck and the head rounds from the M7S.

The Spartan then turned and fired more rounds into the next group and then slamming a kick into another moving around in the dark trying to avoid being caught in friendly fire from the others. The Spartan then turned to kill off the rest of the enemy as they were still unable to see him with the Active Stealth Camouflage Module still active . He then managed to kill the last one but not before finding a laptop and PDA on him. He took those and allowed Cortana to scan the devices and get any information.

Some of the files proved to garbage, but the rest proved invaluable as these included several international safe houses, locations of warehouses to house their 'merchandise', their contacts and the list of their latest victims. There were also files pertaining to locations that could be where Michelle's friends were being held in Roanapur. It was then that Cortana was able to speak to the Spartan.

"Looks like this was not the only complex they have here, we had better find a place outside the grid Chief, I'm picking up images of police cars coming this way, along with a slew of other people."

"The Police are corrupt I take it?"

"That's like calling a skunk a rabbit, their boss takes a monthly payment from every criminal group here, he has an arrangement to keep his nose out of their activities and he in turn wants to keep it that way unless they do something that goes too far. Not the best guy to trust in certain situations, this being one of them."

"Right."

The Spartan turned back on the lights and soon got to see a large truck nearby with plenty of space, he then took the G3 Rifles that he could find and stripped the dead of ammunition and clips. Once that was done, he got Michelle who was able to turn away from seeing the carnage that the Spartan had unleashed on her former captors. He opened the door and quickly determined that the vehicles was a heavy class transport and should be able to handle his weight . He then ripped out the wires and hotwired the vehicle.

Once he was in the driver's seat, he gunned the engine and soon broke out of the area and was speeding off with Cortana guiding him away from the incoming police and who else might now be heading to the location that he had just vacated. Cortana was now going to locate an area that would have to serve as a temporary base while they made their move. John wondered what he had gotten himself into, but now he was committed and the mission still stood, and that was to ensure Michelle Graham's safety at all costs.

…

In the Black Lagoon Building…

Benny looked at the computer, just surfing the files and relaxing after having a very stimulating conversation with his girlfriend Greenback Jane. Stimulating in the sense that they were having online phone sex and she was sending him pictures of herself as well. He might have to admit that she was a nympho, but he was not going to complain all that much and he was eager to see her once again. Afterwards, he surfed the internet and then saw an article that got his attention.

As soon as he read it, he swore out a bit.

"Holy Crap…"

Dutch walked over to the hacker and spoke seriously to the man who he had worked with for a number of years now.

"What's up Benny-Boy?"

"You're not going to believe this…but there's been a high profile kidnapping."

"Uh huh, people do get kidnapped you know, some get rescued and others…well they either survive or not."

Dutch was not being heartless, but he was being practical minded as being a soldier and mercenary had already made him be used to less than stellar facts of life.

"I know…but it's WHO got kidnapped that's got my attention, the guys who did this have some serious balls to kidnap her of all people, considering WHO her old man is."

Dutch was confused by that, this was the first time Benny ever got worked up about a kidnapping and this was more than enough to convince the leader of their group to see just who was this. He looked at the files and the very second he did, he felt his jaw drop a bit and his eyes widen and he spoke out.

"You've got to be shitting me!"

This was when both Rock and Revy came out from their rooms and the shout of the African American mercenary and veteran was enough to stop them and they moved to find out just what was going on. The only time Dutch reacted like this when either they were in a fire fight or he found out something that was royally going to screw them over.

"What's going on? Dutch?"

Dutch turned around and shook his head and moved aside to allow them to see the file as he turned to activate the TV set they had been able to buy from their funds. He was intent on finding out anything he could from the international news networks.

Rock looked and read the report.

"In Washington DC, a full scale investigation has been initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Interpol, the Department of Defense, and other agencies for the kidnapping of Michelle Graham, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holding a doctorate in computer programming. Michelle Graham is the oldest daughter of the current US President Andrew Graham, and his wife Diana Graham the First Lady as well as sister to brothers Joshua and Michael Graham and younger sisters Lana and Jennifer Graham."

"She was kidnapped along with several of her long time friends, Cathy Fairchild, Hannah Douglas, Dana Langston, and Veronica Harris from a hotel that was to be their place for hosting a graduation party after they had graduated with honors from MIT only three days ago."

"While details of the kidnapping have been kept secret by the Secret Service, sources report that several Secret Service agents who had been sent to secure the hotel were apparently killed and replaced by unknown assailants who apparently had been given some means to disguise themselves as the slain agents. The remaining security for Michelle and her friends were also killed by the unknown assailants and she and her friends were kidnapped."

"If these reports are true, then this is a serious breach of security for the First Family and has cast doubt in the already present security measures. So far, the President and the First Lady have not made any comments but a news broadcast is to be started at this time on all national and international news networks."

Rock stopped and he couldn't help but look at Benny with an obviously incredulous look.

"Is this really accurate?"

"Yeah…I was just scanning through the files in the web."

Revy snorted and replied.

"So why should we be concerned…it's not like we are involved. Sure even I'll admit that it takes balls to kidnap the daughter of the 'most powerful man' in the whole fucking world. But it's not like we're going to be under the eye of those groups."

Benny snorted and replied.

"After those incidents with Greenback Jane AND Roberta, you really think that there's no chance that we can be under the gaze of anyone Revy?"

Revy glared and replied.

"Oh shut it Benny! There's no fucking way we're involved in this so why should we give a shit if the daughter of the President of the USA is gone and kidnapped?"

That was when Dutch replied.

"You should Revy, in fact we all should…take a look."

The people of Black Lagoon looked at the TV and sure enough, the images depicted the White House and there was President Graham and he was looking like he was going to go on a rage and for a very good reason. The man cleared his throat and spoke out seriously.

"Good Morning to you, my fellow Americans and to all those watching this broadcast today, I bid you also Good Morning. As you are no doubt aware, a great tragedy had befallen my family. Three days ago, my eldest daughter Michelle who had just graduated with honors from MIT had gone to Florida to spend her graduation party with her classmates. She was the one to make the arrangements for the party for her classmates and had gone ahead of the main body of her classmates. But as they arrived there, unknown assailants had killed the Secret Service agents sent ahead to secure the hotel that the party was going to hosted and took their place."

The man stopped and it was obvious to the people watching the man in the White House Lawn and even to the people in the Black Lagoon building that he was trying his best to remain composed and focused. He then looked in the camera and spoke once more.

"These imposters then killed the agents who were in my daughter's mobile security detail as well as a number of the hotel staff, and took my daughter and several of her friends as hostages and before police units could respond, they took my daughter and her friends from the hotel and escaped. As a former district attorney before taking my previous position as a congressman, then as senator and as your current president, I have always viewed kidnapping as a vile and loathsome crime, and I have sent a number of kidnappers to jail, and two I have sent into the electric chair. I have also been with several families who have been victims of kidnappings and I know the pain and suffering they go through."

"But now it seems that I am now feeling this pain myself. For the past three days, my family and I have been trying to come to terms that our Michelle had been taken as a victim of a kidnapping and also talking to the families of Michelle's friends, people we have been friends with ourselves for many years. And for those three days, I have allocated all the resources to track down any and all traces of my daughter, her friends, and their kidnappers. Only hours before, we received some intel that my daughter and her friends are being held in the Southeastern area of Thailand known as Roanapur."

The very second that Revy, Dutch, Rock, and Benny heard that statement., the men couldn't help but feel like fate had just grabbed them by the balls and kicked them in the ass hard with steel boots. Revy's reaction was more like her, she swore.

"Oh fucking hell…this is bat shit crazy…"

The President then spoke.

"As of today, we are deploying the USS Flagg Battle Group to Thailand as well as a detachment of America's elite, the Joes to confirm or deny this intelligence report. This may seem like a great deal of power for such a mission, but the fact that these kidnappers have not only killed and took the identities of several Secret Service agents, but had been able to identify my daughter and remove her tracking device speaks that they are both well armed and supported. I am already in negotiations with several key leaders in Asia as well to make sure that there is no misunderstanding with the presence of this Battle Group in Asian waters. I am also negotiating with the Thai Government to allow the Flagg to be near the area of Roanapur until we can confirm and launch a possible mission to locate and free not just my daughter but her friends as well."

"These negotiations will reach their conclusion in seven days, once they are concluded, the Flagg will set sail for Roanapur and will be there for a soon to be discussed time table to determine if the data is accurate. I am well aware of Roanapur's…reputation and the fact that reports have been able to confirm that it is a haven for criminal gangs and more, some of whom had members I had personally prosecuted in my career as an attorney, so I will be blunt to the groups in Roanapur who may be watching this broadcast."

"I have been busy with many issues that have come up to my attention ever since I took up this office and as such I have turned my attention to domestic and international matters. But this act of kidnapping my daughter will NOT go unpunished and I will make sure that if any of your groups have indeed played a part with her kidnapping. Then come hell or high water, I will make sure that I will deal with your group in a way that will bring down the full might of the law and that of the United States. Once negotiations will be done, make no mistake that I will use every asset and resource available to me to locate my daughter and deal with those who played a part in the kidnapping. That is all."

As the broadcast ended, Dutch took off his glasses and shook his head.

"Well, there goes the neighborhood…"

Revy raised her eyebrow and replied.

"A whole fucking carrier battle group….damn, that guys got some freaking balls to sent THAT much down here."

Rock replied in his own fashion.

"He is a father after all, it just happened that he also is the most powerful man in the world as well as a father."

Benny couldn't help but agree with Rock and he couldn't help but shake his head as he was quick to understand that if this did happen, then Roanapur was going to be crawling with a serious force. He knew about the Joes and their reputation for fighting as they were supposed to be members from the many branches of the military and had some cutting edge weapons as well as a very deadly fighting force. He then turned to Dutch and spoke to the man in a very serious manner.

"Dutch…I don't need to say this, but this is bad."

"I know…and I can bet that everyone else in Roanapur has heard that report so I won't be the least bit surprised that there is going to be one heck of a meeting for all the bosses. Better get yourselves ready…the next seven days are going to be VERY interesting. Revy, you and Rock might need to meet with Eda in the Rip-off Church, I get the feeling that we're going to be needing her help in being ready for this mess and to keep an eye on the US on what they plan to do."

"Aw fuck…"

"Here we go again."

…

And Dutch was right in that statement as the various criminal elements in the city were aware of the news of the soon to arrive United States forces. Already there were plenty of people who were not reacting well to the news, Hotel Moscow was on the move as well as the Triads and even the surviving members of the Cartels and the Mafia were getting ready for what was to come, this situation also applied to the smaller groups that called this place their home. They were not alone as the regular citizens were also getting themselves aware for the coming storm that was soon to descend on Roanapur.

They however were not the only ones.

…

In a warehouse a fair distance from Roanapur's outer city limits…

John looked at the television broadcast that was shown to him by Cortana through his MJOLNIR as he was currently hiding Michelle in an abandoned warehouse complex in the far side of Roanapur, she was currently resting and recovering from her ordeal as the effects of her kidnapping had finally caught up with her. The woman was in need of rest and seeing that she was all right, the Spartan turned off the broadcast and spoke to Cortana.

"This situation just got complicated."

"Right, you can bet that every major criminal organization here is going to go ape and do what they can to cover their tracks John. I read the files concerning the incidents that came here and I can tell that if we don't find the rest of the friends of our charge somehow, we're going to be in for a very long mission."

"I know. Do we have any options?"

"Yeah, we need to locate the base of operations of these slavers and see if there is any data on where the others are being held, if we can find them or if we're too late any information of their whereabouts and fates, then we can work on getting out of here."

"But I can bet that we are going to have to fight at some point."

"Yeah, whoever supported these guys, are going to use this to their advantage so let's be ready for that. They might also decide to try and get allies to side with them and do as much damage as possible."

John then had a thought as he made a quick sweep of the warehouse and spoke that particular thought to his A.I companion.

"Is there a chance Cobra has some hand in the kidnapping?"

Cortana appeared on his palm as he looked about and replied.

"That is a possibility, they would have no doubt supplied these guys with technology and data to make sure that they would be successful. But what I can't figure out is why they would be interested in taking blood samples from Michelle and then let them have their way with what to do with her. Though they might have plans that involve genetics, and considering their actions before we came here in breaking ethical boundaries, there is a possibility they needed her blood for something else entirely."

The Spartan couldn't help but agree and spoke as well.

"Do you think that they might try to use those samples for cloning?"

"Maybe…but we have to focus on the task at hand before we jump into making theories Chief, we need solid proof of this before we make a move on determining just how this was pulled off. At any rate, this area while not be a good place to stay in for too long, we're going to have to move soon and make our way to the compound these guys own and get an idea of where the others are."

"This was supposed to be a quick rescue…but she does have a point, I can't leave her friends here Cortana."

The A.I nodded at that and replied.

"I know, it's in you never to let innocent people suffer a fate they don't deserve, that's why you're a hero John. I guess until we get everyone out of this place, we're going to have to operate here for a while until we can get out and not attract attention. Come on big guy, let's get down to analyzing the data and making our move. We've got seven days to find the others or if we're too late…anything to give their families closure before the Flagg arrives and this place might get turned into a war zone."

John nodded as he was now convinced that the warehouse was clear and secured, he moved back to the room and checked on the woman and saw that she was finally sleeping. He settled down and decided to get down to the planning phase of the mission that just turned complicated though this time, he knew that this was going to be one heck of a week.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Okay, not that much swearing and shootouts just yet, but this is just the beginning so give me some slack. To be honest, I have not much experience with Black Lagoon so I am doing my best to make sure that I get everything and everyone in to character. The swearing and bloody battles I can do fine, it's the character relationships that I have to work on to make sure that I don't screw it up.

Anyhow, I hope that this is going to be a good enough chapter for all my readers…if not tell me in your reviews and give me ideas on how to improve it, just remember to be civil about it. As for Michelle's character model, I based her from Rangiku Matsumoto of Bleach but without the laziness, and decreased her breast size a bit to be a bit more manageable. But she is levelheaded and intelligent as well so she's not just a babe either.

If I get flames…then you know what I will do to them already so I don't have to tell you that you've wasted your time sending them to me.

By the way, I was listening to the song Honor by the band Atreyu in making this chapter.

…

As you can see, we know now just who the kidnapped target is, and it's the daughter of the President of the United States of America. I could have taken the idea of having the daughter of a senator kidnapped, or a high ranking businessman, but that would not have the impact to really make things a load more interesting. So to REALLY kick things into high gear, we instead have as the kidnap victim, the daughter of the most powerful man in the world in this story of mine. And you can bet that since Michelle's dad is the President, he had MORE than enough assets to look for his daughter.

And the fact that he is a former district authority and has done a lot of cases that included the Cartels, the Mafia, and the Triads, he has MORE than enough experience to believe that one of these groups have his daughter and her friends. And he is going to make sure that he squeezes any and all answers he can get through either diplomacy or good old fashioned lead.

As you all can guess, if the people of Roanapur thought having Roberta in their location in her mission of vengeance was bad enough, then knowing that in their midst was a group that had kidnapped the daughter of the leader of the United States is REALLY bad news. They will do anything to find out just who in their right minds would do this and bring this much heat down on their heads as this was going to be a hell of a mess. And they will no doubt try to find a possible solution that does not end up bad for everyone in their area.

Though you can bet that not everyone in Roanapur is going to try and find a way to make peace with the US, some might get into their minds that this will be a golden chance to get some control over the situation. They might even try to use Michelle as a bargaining chip and as a shield to force the President to do some things that they feel with benefit them.

I'll let you figure out how that is going to play out, but you can bet that there is going to be a serious manhunt in Roanapur to find Michelle. Unfortunately for the gangs and organizations, the lady they happen to be looking for is in the hands of a man who is NOT going to be easily reasoned with.

Unless of course, a certain young man talks to him, and there might be a chance that things will be all right.

You'll never know…that's the fun of making stories like this.

…

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this slice of my imagination for now and I will be working on my other works, and that will include the lemons as well. Though as soon as Christmas comes, I will be taking a vacation so I'll see you all soon.

…

By the way…here's some scenes to expect…

The group of slavers and their mercenary allies fired at the group of Hotel Moscow, Lagoon Company and the Triad as the Spartan looked at the assembled group and spotted two of them armed with Stinger Missile Launchers, those were used normally against aircraft, but they could be aimed to the ground as well.

Chang and Balalaika saw that as well as Dutch and the Russian swore in a very angry tone as she recalled how many of her fellow Russian soldiers and airmen dreaded those weapons funneled to the Afghans by the Americans so long ago.

"Stingers…damn it."

Chang then replied in a serious tone.

"This is bad."

John however decided to end this as he took place his M7S SMGs to his side and then grabbed a pair of HK G36 rifles with extended magazines and got ready to move. Revy saw that and spoke out.

"What the hell kind of crazy suicidal shit plan is going through that head of yours? !"

John replied stoically as he then took both weapons in hand.

"Watch."

(Scene ends…)

Revy, Dutch, Benny, Rock, Balalaika, Boris, Chang, Shenlua, and Eda looked on in utter disbelief as the Spartan was carrying both M7S SMGs in hand and was surrounded by a river of blood and bodies as the force that had been in the way were all wiped out…in a span of seconds. The head of Hotel Moscow shook her head at the sight and even Boris looked on with a raised eyebrow at the results.

Revy recovered and shouted out,

"NO FUCKING WAY THAT JUST HAPPENED!"

Chang then replied.

"Like it or not Revy, it happened, never thought I'd see the day that someone would actually SLAP a missile away in mid flight with one hand, then catch the other one and send it BACK to the shooter."

Benny then replied.

"Now THAT is the epitome of the phrase, 'Return to sender', with interest."

And for the first time Rock turned to Revy and replied.

"You SURE you want a rematch with him?"

…

The groups looked around the compound grounds to try and find out just where the voice came from and they were already reaching for their weapons. Revy was trying to find out where it came from. Right now, the most powerful gangs in Roanapur were here, Hotel Moscow, the Triads, and even the Cartels and the Mafia. The meetings have been tense and words had been shouted. But as soon as they managed to calm down somewhat, that was when the voice came out and now everyone had their weapons at the ready.

"Where the fucking hell did that come from?"

Rock moved back a bit, but that actually had allowed him to slam into someone. The Japanese salary man was surprised since he knew there was no wall there behind him and then he felt behind him to feel…metal.

Then the voice came out once more.

"Not bad…you got lucky."

Rock turned around and so did everyone else as they suddenly were able to see a shimmering effect before them and soon before them all was a massive being wearing green and black armor with a helmet with a golden visor that revealed nothing to their eyes and carrying was would be described as a veritable arsenal on his person.

The whole congregation of Roanapur's criminal organizations aimed their weapons at the Spartan and it was here that Revy's impulsive temper came into play as she shouted.

"FUCK!"

The woman known as Two-Hands unleashed all her bullets at the man, but to the shock of everyone else, including her, the bullets bounced off some glowing field of energy and then, before their eyes, the man literally faded away at high speed.

Revy stopped and looked around wildly to locate her target and shouted.

"SHIT! Fucking hell, where did that thing go?"

"Right here."

Revy turned…only to see the barrel of the man's assault rifle right between her eyes, she then spoke evenly though she knew that at this range…it would be a miracle if she could dodge it as the others looked on in utter surprise.

"Who or what the fucking hell are you? Some sort of robot or freak?"

"The name is Leonidas…leader of Spartan Company, now you know who you are fighting Rebecca,"

…

Bye!


	13. Chapter 13

G.I Joe X Halo

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to either universe, let's leave it at that okay?

Chapter 10

Part 2

Tracker run…

( ): Thoughts

…

In the warehouse…

It had been several hours since the incident with rescuing Michelle and the Spartan decided to make this place into a viable base of operations for the time being and have it secured until they moved to a new location. This was the time that he called in some support in the shape of three of the custom built BATs, but these models were different as all three of them were wearing modified versions of the ODST Battle Dress Uniforms, though only one of them used the basic variant, the other two were wearing two different sets.

The first wore the Sharpshooter Variant with the right arm being less armored for more mobility to use the Sniper Rifle which it carried and the other used the CQC variant to even things up. They were to serve as the security team to secure and hold the warehouse and protect Michelle until they could effect a full scale evacuation of the people in the area.

The BAT with the basic ODST uniform was armed with the same weapons as the Chief with the exception that it carried a M6G Magnum instead of an M7S, the other BAT wearing the Sharpshooter ODST BDU variant carried a SRS 99 AM Sniper Rifle usually carried by all branches but this was the older variant and had some differences to the ones that he normally used in battle, and a MA5K Carbine. And the last carried an M45 Tactical Combat Shotgun and also a MA37 ICWS Assault Rifle.

All three BATs were equipped with Combat Knives as well and carried several grenades to use, some were fragmentation grenades while the others included flash-bangs and sonic grenades. Their task was to hold the location and keep Michelle safe from possible attack. So far it was already early morning and now was a good a time as any for the Spartan to check on the First Daughter and see how she was doing.

As he got there, it seemed that she was now waking up and seemed to be no worse for wear and was soon sitting on the mattress that was clean enough for her to lie on. He moved towards her and placed down his MA37 near the door and placed it on safety and spoke to the young woman to see how she was handling herself.

"How are you feeling?"

Michelle groaned and replied.

"I've been better…but I still am happy you came when you did, but I need to know something."

"What?"

"Have you found a way to locate my friends? I can't leave until they are safe."

"I understand, when I was clearing out the last floor, I recovered a laptop that may have the data on where your friends are located, however we have some bad news to give."

"Oh dear god…what is it?"

"We intercepted a news broadcast from your father, he's negotiating with several Asia leaders into sending a Battle Group to confirm if you are here in Roanapur. It's a bit excessive by many if not all standards, but he seems serious about it and this could prove to be a serious topic."

Michelle nodded and replied.

"I can't blame my father for this, I know Roanapur harbors a large number of terrorist cells and crime groups, not to mention other factors. If I am here, then there's no telling how many people they will be willing to kill or cross to get their hands on me. Knowing that my father is deploying forces might convince the less determined forces here not to get involved, but others might see it differently and use this to their advantage."

The Spartan nodded in agreement with the First Daughter, both he and Cortana had a feeling that if Cobra had somehow been involved, there was no doubt that they could have something to do with the kidnapping itself. There was more to it and it would have to be revealed in due time, but now they had to look at what they could work with. But he then decided to give some information to the First daughter about her kidnappers.

"By the way, here's some data about your kidnappers."

He took out a nearby TAC PAD and showed the data before her as well as a tattoo that he had seen previously on one of the slain guards. It was something of significance so he had it recorded and placed it away for further study, and what he found was not promising to say the very least. All he needed was verification from Michelle if she knew them now.

And she did.

"Oh god…not these guys, I thought that they were long gone, but I guess guys like them don't die that easily."

"You know them?"

"Yes, the Crimson Bond Society, they are a group of highly trained mercenaries that specialize in kidnapping and slavery, namely in white slavery for clients in Europe and in Asia, they even had posts in the US in the past. My father had some encounters with their group way back in the past before becoming president. But they had been wiped out during a very high level operation that was spearheaded by my father when he was a Senator and I was still a teen. They also take part in trafficking their victims and make a load of money selling their 'merchandise' as they call their captives."

"Do you think that the kidnapping was motivated as a means to gain revenge on your father?"

Michelle thought it over carefully, seeing the logic in John's inquiry at this discovery of her father's past with her kidnappers and replied.

"Maybe…but I don't think so, my father's actions in supporting the actions on them had killed many of their leadership and arrested the others and they all have life terms, and none of them have escaped. This might be survivors though, but my father had all their backers arrested as well as their clients. Someone must have helped them rebuild since they had plenty of weaponry though when you fought them."

John thought about that and spoke to Michelle once more as Cortana finally managed to confirm that the locations were indeed possible areas where Michelle's friends were being kept, no doubt to wait until everything was clear and then they would no doubt move the people away. The closest he could reach in daytime was at least three hours from their current location, a few blocks at normal speed. That was by far the best location to start with, but he had to see to the President's daughter first, namely in providing her food and supplies to wait out with until they could find the others.

"I managed to have some supplies on hand for you."

"Really? Thank you, what exactly do you have?"

"Some MREs and other food items, a few basic amenities, such as some water, towel, soap, and the like, I'll find other supplies that you might need as I go along. I have some of my men on guard duty here for the time to secure this place on the off chance we might get some unwanted company here. I also know a possible location where one of your friends might be located at."

"Thank goodness."

John then took out something that he had been able to have brought in the stealth Pelican, it was a Kevlar vest and also a basic pistol, namely from the armory of his company, this was a M9 Berreta handgun with three clips. He then gave them to the woman and she looked at them with some surprise, but that lasted only for a while as she replied.

"For protection?"

"Yes, you know how to use a gun?"

"I had to learn how, considering my dad's previous occupation, I'm no marksman, but I can manage."

"Good, I already ate early so it's best that you did in."

Michelle followed John and soon they were in front of a table where some MREs were ready, Michelle gave a groan and that actually made John a bit amused as he had an idea what was making her groan. Anyone who had ever eaten MREs had more than one negative and colorful name for the foodstuff issued to all military personnel. Having been a student of history as par the course growing up on Reach as a Spartan, John was very familiar with the history of MREs.

But these were made by the UNSC standard, and compared to old style MREs they were a lot better tasting and were of a higher nutrient content as well as bulk. Michelle found that out and ate some with a level of surprise as she spoke while eating the roast beef and the corn bread cake that was there.

"This isn't bad, I used to think MREs were like crap even with all the upgrades done to them."

John replied in an evasive but relaxed manner.

"We in Spartan Company usually have time to make our supplies better."

"I'll bet, at any rate, even if you are not part of the US military, I am grateful, but I have heard of you before."

"Really?"

"Yes, my father mentioned that in passing when he was talking to some of his advisors while I was getting ready for the graduation ceremony. Is it really true you and your group helped out the Joes in that mission in Russia with Cobra?"

"Pretty much."

"Well then, that's good to know, if you're not with Cobra then that makes you less of a danger, still I can't exactly trust you yet."

"You don't need to, but you can trust in the fact that I will find your friends and get you out of here alive."

Michelle nodded and as soon as the meal was over, John quickly had one of the BATs act as the guard on the roof, namely the one in the ODST Sharpshooter BDU while the other two were lower floor security. Once he was assured that they were in position and Michelle had on her gear, he moved out, thankfully his Active Stealth Camouflage module was not damaged in last night's fighting so he was still able to use it in battle if need be.

As soon as he was out of the building, he quickly activated the module and went dark as he moved through Roanapur, careful to avoid civilian traffic while Cortana, using the new UNSC satellite systems coordinated his movements through the city, he hoped that he was going to avoid company. He moved through the city and even took to moving over roof tops, but he made sure that the roof was structurally sound as the last thing he needed was the roof falling under his weight and him landing into who knew what.

He had a feeling however that with the news that came to them, there was going to be some activity from the residents of Roanapur as well.

…

In the Church of Violence…

Revy glared at Eda as the glasses wearing nun smirked at them as she and Rock came close to see if she had some information that could at least tell them just what was going on here that would help them prepare for what was to come. Revy disliked the CIA agent as she was not going to hesitate in flirting with Rock and while Revy used to not give a rat's ass on who the fake nun flirted with, the very second she started flirting with Rock, the woman swore she saw red when that happened.

Rock knew that to be true and the young man already saw the deadly auras that the women were showing as well as the undeniably icy glares that they gave one another and he knew that now was the right time for him to play peace maker before things got out of hand. He turned to Revy and spoke to her in a gentle but serious tone.

"Revy, we're here to find information not a gun battle all right?"

Revy glared but she decided to let Rock do the talking since if she talked with Eda, they would end up aiming their guns at one another again.

"Fuck…fine, go ahead and talk to that bitchy fake nun, but make damn sure that she keeps her hands to herself or I'll fucking shoot them off myself."

Rock knew that this was normal for Revy, but this was the first time she had acted this way when it involved another woman talking to him, especially if it was Eda. He however reminded himself that he had to focus on what Dutch had asked him to do last night.

Revy on the other hand was looking at Rock with a level of annoyance. The guy was just too nice at times, and was too much of a diplomat and no matter how many times she had tried to get a rise out of him, he seemed to keep calm and composed. And even when he did lose his temper, he apologized afterwards.

(I worry about this guy…he's too fucking nice, and too considerate…shit, if it hadn't been for me, Dutch, and Benny, he'd be dead many times over ever since we dragged him along.)

Revy then thought about that as she recalled the time they found him and ever since then, he had been with them. Sure he had brains and his skills were good and he had gotten them out of some very tough situations. But it didn't mean she liked the idea of him risking his neck like that, most people would have called him weak and useless, and while she would have agreed with that in the past, she had now developed something of an attachment to the man no matter how many times she tried to deny it.

She was brought back to reality however when Eda spoke to Rock.

"Hey there Rock, nice to see you here all of a sudden."

"Nice to see you too Eda-san."

The blonde smiled at the young man who greeted her with a bow, she looked to see Revy giving her the usual, 'Stay the fuck away from him or I shoot you' look that she had developed ever since Rock had joined their group. The blonde found that amusing as this was Revy's standard look when Rock was with her. However she did understand it, Rock was by far the most decent man in this place, so why was it that Revy was not making a freaking move on him?

She knew Revy well enough and it confused and amused her on why was it that Revy was not making a move on the Japanese man and get him in bed. She had more than enough ability to do that and let the matter rest, but no…Revy seemed to want to avoid that, and this amused Eda. But for now she had decided to worry about that for a much better time.

"So, what brings you guys out here?"

Rock told Eda what Dutch had asked them to do last night and Eda listened intently, she hand took off her glasses and was deep in thought about the whole matter and then placed them back on and replied.

"Yeah, we have partially confirmed it, though I have my doubts."

"What do you mean by that Eda-san?"

The blonde replied patiently.

"Normally if there is some data that confirms a priority package in the field, it has to be confirmed by the agent on site. But somehow the data came to Langley BEFORE I could make any headway in my investigation."

"What the fuck does that mean you fake nun?"

Eda looked at Revy and smirked as she replied.

"It means that the information came to the higher ups from another source here in Roanapur than me. Either that, or there was some sort of source that gave the information and confirmed it to the head honchos back there and they are making the move on the belief that this is accurate."

Rock thought it over and replied.

"So you yourself had no idea if this is tru Eda-san?"

"That's half right, we checked the data and it is half right, the President's daughter is here, but we have no idea on just who kidnapped her and brought her here of all place, they either have contacts here in the city of they feel that not even the US would come here in force. That in itself is insane since there are a lot of people in the US who would love to put an end to Roanapur themselves. And the things that happen here don't exactly make this place a good place to go to."

"That's what confuses me about this whole thing, why here of all the places to take the President's daughter?"

Revy then spoke seriously.

"So let me get this fucking right…you know that she's here, but you don't know WHY she's here? Some intelligence outfit you belong to."

Eda snorted and replied.

"And I suppose you can do better?"

Before things could really get out of hand, the young man then spoke to the two women, he knew his chances of convincing them not to kill each other was pretty low when they got like this, but he knew that he had to at least try.

"Come on you two, now is not the time for this."

Both women were focusing on each other and Rock could tell that despite his words, they were already reaching for their weapons, and he got ready for another shootout, but that was stopped when both their phones rang. Eda looked at hers and frowned and the same went for Revy.

…

Later…

As Revy and Rock arrived in the neutral meeting ground where the leaders of Roanapur's underground, they were soon joined by Dutch and Benny, Eda had gone ahead to meet with some of her contacts in the CIA while Dutch had called them to come here as the meeting was now underway. Rock then gave the information that they got from Eda to Dutch and the man agreed with Eda, it made no sense on why they would bring the President's daughter here in Roanapur of all things, but the theories that came with the idea that there was something more going on did not sit well with anyone as this meant anything.

There in the meeting ground for the day were Hotel Moscow, the Triads and several other groups, though the vast majority of Roanapur's underground organizations were busy dealing with other matters. Already Chang was talking to Balalaika, showing his still present respect for the hardened Russian soldier.

"Balalaika, this matter is not something we can ignore, though I know that you agree with me on this."

"For once Babe, you are right, but I can't help but wonder just how this happened long before we even knew about it?"

"I don't have an answer to that either, but I can assure you that no one in the Triads here or in the US had anything to do with her kidnapping. We might love to take things to the edge, but kidnapping the President's daughter is too high risk even for us."

Balalaika nodded in agreement as she knew that not even the Russian Mafia were that daring in their actions. And she would not hesitate to seriously discipline anyone of her people if they did have a hand in this kidnapping. She had no doubt about the fighting skills of her forces, but she doubted that even they could stand against a determined force that was a Battle Group.

As the discussions went back and forth, it was not long before Dutch gave the nod for Rock to say what he needed to say. As soon as Rock did so, he began to point out that there was a chance that this was not a random act, but a very deliberate one. He had no idea why this was the case, and why he thought of it that way, but after what he learned from Eda, this was a possibility.

The others listened and Balalaika, Chang, and Yolanda had to admit that the idea of this kidnapping being used as a tool for some nefarious end for Roanapur was both ingenious and disturbing, even for them all as this meant that the US could very well be used to annihilate them once and for all, even if none of them had anything to do with the kidnapping of his daughter. They all knew of his past and how dangerous the man was when it came to crime organizations like them.

As the discussions continued, they all turned to see none other than the corrupt Chief of Roanapur's police department and he seemed to be a foul mood. Something that was a lot more obvious than most would think. The man was head of the police, but he collected a monthly payment from the groups in the room to look the other way, and he was willing to do that as long as they didn't do anything that would bring too much attention. But now it seemed that he was here of his own accord and that usually meant trouble of some sort was going to show up.

Balalaika looked at Watsup with a barely disgusted expression on her face which was attractive in some ways despite of the burn scars that were there. The head of Hotel Moscow had no love or respect for the corrupt chief of police for Roanapur and this situation with the discovery of the President's daughter only served to heighten her dislike for the man. The same could be said for Chang and the others, even more so with Revy, Dutch, Benny and Eda as well as Yolanda.

The man however was not in the mood to listen to their words today, he had enough to worry about with the news that the US was coming this way, but now learning of the mess that happened in an are of Roanapur added to that.

"What do you want Watsup? We're not here to talk about the monthly stipend again are we?"

"That's not why I'm here and you know it, this is like that fucking time that Roberta girl showed up and tore this city a brand new hole it didn't need doing that 'path of justice' crap she kept talking about. But that's not why I'm here, did any of you have another argument with a bunch of guys in the city lately?"

This made the others look at the Chief with confusion and Watsup sighed as he tossed a report sheet to the assembled crime leaders and people there.

"We got a call from a few people that all hell had broken loose in a complex with a warehouse in it. The second we got there, it was a hell of a mess. We found nearly a hundred guys armed to the teeth…all of them dead. And from what we can see, it was all done in a matter of an hour or even half an hour. We found some of them either shot up, gutted with blades, one had a shard of glass eight inches in his throat, another was found both asphyxiated and had his neck bones crushed to fragments, we even had to pry one guy who had a BOOT print on his chest and his rib cage shattered from the roof. That guy was examined hours ago and appeared to have actually been kicked from the floor to the roof where it took four of my men at least an hour to pry him loose."

"What I want to know is if any of you got involved since these guys apparently were from a slavery ring, because if they are, then there is someone new out here and if he was able to kill nearly a hundred guys armed with armor and weaponry as well as gear in only half an hour, then there is something going on here and I need to find a fucking way to keep a lid on it."

Chang read the report and then gave it to Balalaika and the former Russian paratrooper officer and leader of Hotel Moscow looked carefully and noted that there was some sort of tattoo on the men. It was a pair of human hands tied by bond of red rope and the rope held by a pair of crossed knives. She soon recognized the mark and replied.

"I know this mark, this belongs to the Crimson Bond Society, they were an organization of mercenary slavers who if paid for a mission and paid a certain amount will kidnap anyone. They were rumored to have been wiped out in a covert operation that was to wipe out their strongholds in Europe and Asia as well as the US by the current US President when he was still a Senator. But it seems that some of them are still around. How did they get here without us even being told?"

Watsup shook his head and replied.

"Hey don't look at me, I do what I can but I can't cover the entire city at once, and maybe they were brought in by other groups. That's why I came here first and showed you this."

Balalaika then spoke seriously.

"You said their force here was wiped out?"

"Wiped out? Are you fucking kidding me? I swear that it looked like Shenhua and Two Hands decided to drop by there and kill them all or even Roberta did it but I doubt that since that crazy terminator maid isn't around. I do know that whoever attacked them was VERY thorough, we tried looking for anyone who could tell us what the hell happened there, but none of them are alive. But we did find this much…many of their weapons were taken from them, rifles, clips, ammunition, you name it. They were stripped of anything that could shoot, main and kill, and they were left to rot."

The women in question glared and it was only a serious look from Chang that both Shenhua and Revy didn't attack, and for different reasons, Chang was Shenhua's employer and she had no intention of disappointing her boss, and Revy respected Chang enough to listen to him not to cause trouble.

"So, anyone of you got involved in this?"

At the shaking of heads, the corrupt chief sighed and got the report and spoke out.

"Great…anyways, I am out of here, I've got to get ready for the hell storm coming here soon."

As soon as that was over, the bosses began to discuss things a bit more to figure out what was going on, that is until Balalaika spoke to Dutch.

"Dutch, I need you and Lagoon to find out what you can find out about this…attack, if there is something going on here, then we need to know more."

The African American then spoke in a curious tone.

"Why ask us? Eda can handle that part well enough, being a CIA spook."

"That might be true, but I don't exactly trust the CIA or the KGB, and while Eda is a good source of information, for all we know, the US might be feeding false information as a way to hide something. The slavers I know of are professionals Dutch, to be taken out like that was the work of a top assassin and while Shenhua and Revy can do that and even Roberta…there's something I feel that tells me that there is more than what is going on."

They were not the only ones however who were currently in discussion as a covert force was being deployed straight from the US on a high speed insertion boat…courtesy of G.I Joe.

…

"Do you think we'll actually be able to find any trace of the President's daughter here?"

Shipwreck looked at Cover Girl, Wetsuit, Road-Block, Duke, Scarlett, Mutt and Junkyard and replied to his fellow Joes.

"Trust me, if she's here, there's a big chance that she's there, then there's bound to be some information that can confirm what the spooks in the CIA have on her location. But if you've heard the stories about this place, then I have to tell you that they're all true. This place is a melting pot for every criminal element and extremist you can find. And I can bet that the two groups in question are going to be thinking about either covering their hides or making use of this mess to their benefit."

Mutt turned and spoke to his fellow Joe.

"You sound like you've been here before Shipwreck."

Shipwreck nodded at that.

"I have, and let me tell you, there's a huge amount of risk coming here if you have no idea how it works. The one thing I can't figure out is why of all places, she would be taken here, this might look like the best place to hide a kidnap victim but it's not in any stretch, even more so if the victim is high profile ."

Road Block then replied.

"What makes you say that?"

"Roanapur is a cesspit of crime, corruption, you name it, but it does have a set of rules and codes. The most common one is the maintenance of the status quo. The various factions in that place want to keep things in Roanapur and keep it from spilling outwards into other areas and possibly around the world and not bring heat down on them. They want to keep business as it were flowing and stable so they earn more and keep things calm. The Russian Mafia and the Chinese Triads here seem to keep a cool business relationship and their head leaders seem to be on good terms. The real problems are the Cartels and the Italian Mafia who have branches here, along with whatever mercenary bands and more reside here, and there are the terrorist cells to be boot."

"It might have been some time since I came back here, but I've heard the stories on how things here are played, anyone trying to cause a commotion is dealt with and any attempt to seize power from the main factions is crushed well enough. But despite the power and the people here in Roanapur, none of them want the full attention of anyone in power outside of Roanapur. So the idea of those slavery guys taking the daughter of the President here is like asking for an assault rifle up the butt, without the sweet talk."

Cover Girl sighed and replied to that.

"Do you have to be so descriptive?"

Shipwreck shrugged as he guided the specialist vessel to their location to begin the Joes' investigation into Roanapur before the Battle Group took off. There was still a lot of red tape to cross and the President was already hip deep in negotiations which were going to take a while since many leaders in the Asian sphere were not too happy with the idea of a US Battle Group in their area, calling it excessive, but the President was not the kind to give up on the matter and it was going to be a covert operation so they could not afford to make a mistake.

"I know it's not the thing most people want to hear, but it's the truth and I call as I see it."

Wetsuit nodded as he had been in a lot of operations as a SEAL and some of them took place near Roanapur so he was very much in agreement with Shipwreck on the matter. It was here that Mutt then spoke to their guide into the place that was already raising not just the danger signals in him but in Junkyard as well.

"You did business with them?"

"Nope, never had any plans to, and I think it works well enough for both sides. The only reason I know, is because I know who to ask and when to ask them. At any rate, going there as we are is going to really get us into trouble, getting into fights with the local thugs and riff raff is expected, but we don't want to get the attention of the big guns out here."

The other Joes nodded as they were soon getting their gear ready. Going to locate the President's daughter to confirm if she was indeed in Roanapur was a tough assignment. All of the Joes knew enough of the place but only Shipwreck had been able to delve into the place well enough to know it apart from Wetsuit, due to their Naval backgrounds. It was Shipwreck however who happened to have more knowledge due to having contacts from his past there who still operated in the area of Roanapur but kept themselves out of the limelight.

This was authorized by General Hawk with covert approval from the Joint Chiefs to boot. They needed to do this and make sure that if it could be done quickly then it could make sure that a possible incident could be avoided by the US.

…

John looked at the large building and could see the guards who were armed with FNFAL Assault Rifles as well as M9 Berretta Pistols, SPAS-12 Shotguns, and wearing what appeared to be heavy combat vests along with Tactical uniforms, totally unlike the ones he encountered the night before. The Spartan was on top of a high rise building and using the MJOLNIR's long range sensors to spot them while his Active Stealth Camouflage module fully recharged. As soon as he was near the area, he went into the building quickly and was on the roof as the Active Stealth Camouflage Module ran out of power so he had to wait and recon the groups below him.

They were moving around in teams of four, similar to a Marine Fire-team and also moved in a different formation. One or two would carry rifles while the others would carry Shotguns, and all of them routinely would call in their status. This was enough to tell John that these guys were professional and no doubt well trained.

This worked well with the data with the Crimson Bond Society's MO; they were ex military and were hardly the kind to hire rookies off the shelf. Cortana herself began hacking into the files as well as accessing Roanapur's computer networks to see if there were floor plans on the complex itself as well as any other relevant data. It was not long before she was done and spoke to John.

"We've got to make a move soon John, but we're going to have to move fast, there's no doubt in my mind that as soon as they know that their buddies got slaughtered, they might be on the move soon."

"Right."

John looked for a recon group of the Crimson Bond Society's patrols and spotted one, it was a long shot but with his Active Stealth Camouflage Module now online, he was going in. He made his way back to street level, moving to avoid attracting company and soon faded into the shadows. He moved closer to the compound and spotted some nearby heavy bars of concrete with metal rebar into them. He moved there carefully and then moved to look over the place and spotted the patrol from before.

Once they were out of the way, he moved silently to the ground and moved quickly behind the three of them. He waited for it and as soon as they stopped, he moved into action as he lashed out with powerful chops to the back of the heads.

The sounds of cracking bones were heard and all four men died quickly and he took their communication systems which were special black ops communication radios and dragged them away. Once they were out of sight for now, the Spartan quickly hacked into their communication systems and allowed Cortana to get into their system in a wireless fashion, this also applied to the transponder systems that the men had on them.

Once she was in the system, he made his way into the compound though he had to be careful, these guys were not idiots despite his technology advantage so there was no telling what sort of surprises they had in the area. Cortana then spoke to him via COM-system to tell him just what she had been able to find out about their foes and what sort of gear they had on them.

"I've hacked into their communications network John, and this is not bad, some of the technology is of M.A.R.S manufacture."

"M.A.R.S…isn't that Destro's company?"

"Right, but these appear to be older models from what I have been able to access from the reports on Destro's family company. This means that they must have either bought these or they had been given these by Destro. These might be surplus, but they were not the kind you can call junk either. I've managed to get records of the voices of those men to fool the controllers when they call in, as well as their transponders."

"So Cobra is behind this."

"Right you are, though what they intend to accomplish by equipping, and no doubt funding these guys is still in the dark in my calculations, but we can worry about that for a later time, they will soon find those bodies and the ruse is revealed, so let's hustle it."

Cortana was right as they moved through the complex, it was not long before alarms were ringing in the whole complex, more than enough to tell the pair that the bodies had been found and soon the place was at full alert, John managed to keep out of sight of the moving forces attempting to lock down the base and locate the intruder who was naturally him and Cortana but he could see that the Active Stealth Camouflage Module's power supply was almost dry so he powered it down and quickly attacked the nearest fire team.

The four men were suddenly shocked to see a green and black armored figure with a golden visor appear as if out of thin air and blast them with what appeared to be a highly advanced Assault Rifle, they barely had time to react when the Spartan cut them down with bursts from his MA37, he also charged into the last one who managed to fire his SPAS-12 shotgun at the Spartan, only to see the shield kick in and deflect his rounds, much to his shock and the Spartan followed up with a powerful strike to the jaw and broke the man's neck with one fell strike.

The Spartan turned and quickly moved into cover as another fire time came at him, bullets came out as 7.62mm rounds and shotgun pellets were sent flying. The group moved in sync with each other with the rifle wielding members covering the shotgun carrying ones who would then cover the approach of their comrades.

John quickly listened and as soon as the Riflemen reloaded, their weapons, the moved out of cover and charged into the shotgun troopers and fired three accurate bursts into their faces, killing them easily and he then did the same to the remaining men as they dropped dead. The first floor was filled with eight dead bodies but John knew that now was not the right time to relax as he was soon picking up multiple contacts in the area. He quickly took several grenades from the vests of the men he had killed and quickly took some high tensile wire and pulled the pins from the grenades but tied down the handlers to prevent them from detonating and tossed the weapon right at the door that the second fire team had come out from. That was when three fire teams came in and the grenades were loosened into their forces.

The end result was a massive series of explosions that sent the twelve men into nothing but a bloody mess. John quickly turned and rushed down the nearby stairs and switched to the DMR and quickly fired three round bursts into the next fire team that came at him, though they did manage to fire off some rounds, most if not all of the rounds missed him while the few merely bounced off the shields he had on. The men dropped but not before one of them managed to fire out several bursts from his FN FAL before getting a face full of bullets.

John moved down the stairs and was greeted by a wall of fire as he quickly sought cover while his shields flared, he was soon told by Cortana that they were coordinating a grenade volley and he had to stop them as he loaded some fresh rounds into his DMR and he quickly moved up and spotted the grenadiers ready their throws. The Spartan's reflexes kicked in and 'Spartan Time' was in effect as John quickly fired several bursts into the grenades and even into the hands of the throwers. The end results were massive explosions as the grenades either went off or were dropped. The injuries were pretty bad for the attackers but that allowed the Spartan to move in and place aside his DMR and take out his MA37 to eliminate the rest of the forces there. He quickly took out.

The complex had at least five floors with the last three underground and there were firefights all the way as the Crimson Bond Society were going all out as the place resembled a shooting range where automatic weapons were the norm and ammunition was not a concern. The walls were filled up with bullet holes and gashes as well as sections of the floor being blasted. The Spartan took cover and quickly eliminated his quarry while Cortana dutifully hacked into the security net of the Crimson Bond and locate any valuable data caches to add to the data they already had on hand.

She also hacked into more secure databases to locate any possible information on how Cobra factored into the kidnapping of Michelle and her friends as well as also trying to locate anything on what Cobra's agenda was concerning Roanapur. So far she found nothing solid though the data she did find was enough to work on possible ideas. She also cut communications to any other location in Roanapur using the very same comm.. system as this base was. As soon as she was done, she quickly unleashed a wave of quantum thought bombs and copies of herself filled with heavy calculations to overwhelm the computer networks.

Once she told him that it was down, it was now up to John to clean house and he was more than able to do just that as more and more of the Crimson Bond's soldiers were being taken out by the Spartan in a mix of bullet fire and hand to hand combat. And there were a number of them already dead, but they gave a good fight as they were able to actually take down a quarter of the Spartan's shields in a concentrated barrage of fire as well as coordinated ambushed, that was something that John noted and had to admit was good on their part.

But despite their actions, the Spartan's superior training, experience, weaponry, technology, skill, and abilities prevailed as he quickly and methodically took them all down and out for the count/

So far it seemed that they had at least fifty to a hundred men in this place and soon there were going to be a few of them. John however was going all out as he quickly moved to the last floor after he located the backup generator and took the thing down quickly and effectively with the use of a grenade he had pilfered from a dead soldier earlier. He wasted no time after doing that as Cortana was now hacking her way through Roanapur's power and transportation network as well as their communications network to back up their escape.

He had good reason for the rush though as Cortana had just informed her that the last soldier, apparently the lead officer in this base was moving to the last room to kill Hannah. That was more than enough o convince the Spartan to haul ass and kill the enemy before that happened.

…

Hannah was a young red-haired woman in her early twenties and had been one of Michelle's oldest friends since they were friends with one another. She was as tall as Michelle, with her hair only up to the half of her neck and while not as well figured in the bust department but had her fair share of admirers. She also happened to be a graduate of MIT though not as gifted as her long time friend but Michelle trusted her with their combined school work back in MIT But right now she was terrified as she was still tied up and unable to move from the area. Her clothes were torn up though not by much yet the effects were there.

She had not been able to eat ever since she had been brought to the place and was unsure where the others were. And there was no telling what these filthy bastards were going to do to her and her friends. She only hoped that rescue was going to come soon before she finally lost her will to keep fighting them all. She was not entirely weak but the starvation she had undergone ever since the kidnapping was more than enough to sap her of a good portion of her will and strength to resist her captors. She tried to find a way to free herself despite her lack of energy and the fact that she was inuring herself with her current actions.

(I have to find out what happened to the others.)

Her actions were cut short however when the door opened and the leader of the bunch quickly came to her and hauled her to her feet. She could see that the man was in a very angry mood and she feared the worst. She had no idea what was happening as the room she had been sent to seemed to be sound proofed and as such had no idea what was happening.

The man then spat out an angry curse at her as she tried her best to understand what was going on. But it was at this point that the door in the room was suddenly torn backwards and sent flying and hitting the wall with a massive crash. The leader turned and was soon behind Hannah and she saw a massive figure before her carrying an advanced looking rifle and looking right at her captor

…

The Spartan aimed his MA37 Assault Rifle at the Crimson Bond Society officer who now had Hannah in his grasp and his Berretta on her head as he shouted darkly at the massive armored human in armor. And the way he looked showed to the Spartan that he was already in a very tense state, one wrong move and it was all over for Hannah.

"DROP THE FUCKING WEAPON OR I SHOOT HER!"

John kept it cool and waited for the right moment as Cortana was now hacking her way into the Roanapur power grid and targeting this block to shut down power. He had already taken out the base's backup generator in advance so there was little chance of the power kicking in. He was already working on his own surprise as he coiled himself at the ready though he doubted that the man would notice that as being in his MJOLNIR made it impossible for the man to see just what he was going to do to him. He then spoke to the man and buy himself some time before he got confirmation from Cortana.

"You sure you want to kill her? You're group went through a lot of trouble to take her and her friends here, now you would kill her, aren't your superiors going to 'what's the term' ah, shit bricks if you kill one of their merchandise?"

"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS!"

John replied just as Cortana gave the signal.

"It is now!"

The lights quickly went out throughout the entire building and with the generator disabled, there was no time for power to come back to the building. The Spartan moved and dropped his weapon, freeing his hands. The Crimson Bond Officer barely had time to react as his hand with the pistol was suddenly yanked away in a powerful bone breaking grip before he could even think of firing the trigger. His cry was quickly silenced along with his life as the Spartan introduced a bone crushing strike to the face. The blow was such that actually caved in his face and turned his skull into a shattered mess. The man died instantly and dropped dead just as Cortana turned on the lights and the room was back to full view, though throughout the moment, John had quickly used thermal vision to see his targets.

Hannah recovered from the sudden loss of light and looked to see the mess of her former captor as he lay there bleeding in the face and fears…added to that was sight of his face caved in, literally. She looked to see the Spartan picking up his discarded weapon and turned to take out a knife and head for her. She panicked and spoke out in fear as she had no idea who this man was before her or if it even was a man.

"Stay away from me!"

John could see the fear in her face but kept himself cool about it, he expected this reaction from the woman as seeing him no doubt was not something she was used to. But he knew that he had no time, there was no telling if and when the Police would show up and there was a chance that some criminal forces here would make their move and take some level of interest in what happened here.

With that in mind he spoke seriously to the young woman and in a tone of command.

"You can relax, I'm here to rescue you."

Hannah looked at him in fear and replied.

"I don't believe you…who sent you?"

"You're friend Michelle Graham."

That stopped Hannah and he saw that there was some hope in her eyes this time around. That was obvious as she spoke with a greater deal of interest.

"She…she sent you? Is she safe?"

"Yes, I rescued her last night, she's currently in a safe location with several of my fellow soldiers watching over her. We have to leave this place soon and get out of here before anything else happens."

Hannah looked at the armored human and finally nodded, she watched in awe as the man merely tore the ropes off with the help of his Knife and soon she was free. Once she was able to feel the blood flow into her limbs after being tied up for so long, it was a good feeling and she tried to find some clothing to cover herself as some of her clothes had been ruined by her overzealous guards.

She looked at him once more and replied.

"You saved Michelle? What about the others? Were they with her?"

"No, they had separated you from one another since we found Michelle alone apart from her guards."

"Oh god…did…those bastards harm her?"

"They were about to, but we came in and stopped them before they could go ahead with what they had in mind for her."

"Thank you…I'm ready to go."

John nodded and spoke to her.

"Then stay close to me, we need to get out fast and hard before we get discovered."

Hannah did not argue and as they made their way out of the building, she was quick to see the Spartan's grisly handiwork, but while she was sickened by some of the things she had seen, she also felt some level of satisfaction that these animals got what they deserved. After hearing all the things that they intended to do to her and her friends now that they got what they deserved and then some.

Still, she did her best to avoid looking at the men and as soon as they were in the area, John quickly signaled her to move back as he looked to see a number of people moving into the complex and already the sounds of police sirens were all over the place. This was not good in the mind of the Spartan. Cortana however was quick to hack into the traffic control systems in Roanapur and quickly grid locked the area as she informed John that he had to move fast.

"John! Time to get a move on!"

"Roger that, I'll need to make an exit quick and fast."

Cortana mentally winced as she had a fairly accurate idea on just what was going through her Spartan's mind.

"Go ahead."

John quickly turned and guided Hannah to another side of the room and quickly did a scan of the wall's structure and made some calculations on the location, age, and condition of the wall as well as the structure. Once that was done, the Spartan began to kick the wall. Several well placed and unrestrained kicks from the Spartan's feet were enough to send that wall smashing down. The Spartan quickly moved out and when he was sure that no one was there, he guided the young woman out who was still stunned by the sight of the man kicking the wall back with tremendous force as if he did this every day.

She had no time to react as the Spartan was quick to place both weapons on his back despite the weight on his back and she was surprised when he took her into his hands and carried her bridal style.

"What are you doing?"

"Trust me."

With that he moved out, leaping over the wall and was soon moving out while running at top speed, the good news was that there was no traffic there, though it was not surprising that people who lived in this area of the street were shocked out of their skin when they felt the area in their homes shake like a small earthquake and heard footsteps that sounded REALLY large move by them. The only indications that the Spartan was there was the slight boot prints he left behind though he made sure to move quick to not leave a trail. It was not limited to just being on the ground as John quickly leaped over several cars and the only reason no one saw him was the fact that he had the Active Stealth Camouflage Module on and it managed to envelop Hannah without any ill effects on the young woman. That was something that the Spartan was thankful for and as soon as he was able to find a viable place to hide, he placed her down and they moved to the hideout, well away from any more traffic.

…

In the hideout…

"Hannah!"

"Michelle!"

The two friends hugged one another and there were tears in their faces, and utter relief to being together once more and under some level of protection. John and Cortana looked on and they were both thankful that the first hostage was rescued. But that would get harder; there was no telling how long it will be before word of the attacks would reach the rest of the Society's cells in Roanapur so they were going to have to move fast and strike hard. For now however, they had to secure Hannah as well as Michelle and make sure to move them to a more secure location.

Michelle was thankfully not harmed and she was not doped either and that was good thing in his mind as he was not going to like the result. However she did show signs of mental trauma which while it seemed to be flowing out of her system, he still doubted that she was fully recovered. He looked at the BATs and communicated with them in the secure communications links between them. He gave the BATs clear orders and give full orders to get ready to move out when the time came for them to pack up.

The BATs nodded and moved to their original positions while Cortana filled John in with the latest information. The Smart A.I showed him the latest information and it showed that the next target was unfortunately in a key area of the city owned by one of the crime groups, and that group in question was Hotel Moscow…this meant that the Crimson Bond Society was using Hotel Moscow as some sort of shield to keep others away from them without raising a warning flag to the criminal group as well. But how did they manage to bypass Hotel Moscow without getting into trouble with them?

Cortana then spoke.

"They must have allies in the Russian military or intelligence, or there is a possibility that they also have contacts in the Russian Mafia to help them bypass Hotel Moscow and not raise any red flags to their presence…as far as I can figure, the branch is a lot less open and more in line with the spooks that one would think of in the spy business. That means they are armed differently from the ones we fought with in rescuing Michelle and then Hannah."

"The fact that Cobra technology is in their hands, despite being older models, must mean that Cobra had not just supplied them with their gear and intel, but no doubt paid for them to be there, and knowing Cobra's ties with criminal and terrorists organizations, it's not a stretch that they've got agents in those same organizations to even things up."

"So this means that they have a far different branch for these kinds of operations and locations, goes to show that despite them being like this, they have good standards."

Cortana smirked a bit and laughed as well and replied.

"If you're done admiring the men you're about to send to an early grave at a later date, I suggest you keep in mind that we're going to have to cross into a crime group's territory to rescue the other friend of the President's daughter. This will not sit well so we're going to have to make sure we don't end up perforating the wrong target."

"That's going to be hard to do, Hotel Moscow aren't exactly a bunch of saints considering their track record and let's even begin with the reports we've got from the taps we had with the Mafia families."

"True, but they had no part in kidnapping Michelle so we have no reason to go after them. Not yet anyway, but let's not forget that our objective here is to get Michelle and her friends out after all, we're not here to start fire fights with the criminals here, no matter how we might feel about their crimes and their actions on people who were not part of their plans. We have our duties big guy, of course, if they shoot at us, or rather you, then all bets are off."

John snorted a bit and replied.

"Considering who we are and what we've done for years, we usually end up going all bets are off in that regard."

The A.I laughed gently and replied.

"You got a good point there big guy, but we have some time, and it looks like Michelle wants to have a word with you."

John looked and saw that the conversation between Hannah and Michelle was now over and therefore the President's daughter spoke to him in a very grateful tone.

"I have to thank you for saving Hannah, I have been worried sick about how things would have turned out. I know that it's wrong for me to doubt you after…how you rescued me and all, but still…"

John shook his head and replied in a professional manner.

"You have nothing to apologize for, you have every reason not to trust someone you personally do not know."

"That may be true, but now I know that I can rely on you, and I have no doubt that you can rescue my other friends who are still out there. But is there any chance that you find my other friends before all hell breaks loose?"

"Honestly, I do not know, we do have to keep your location a secret, but there is no doubt that the announcement of your presence here in Roanapur will complicate things, especially if there are groups who might use you to their advantage. We will find them and get them out however, but we may soon have to leave this place if the heat becomes too much."

Michelle nodded and helped Hannah get some food in her body after being starved by her captors to weaken her resolve and make her more…malleable as it were. She was also looking to have a number of injuries though they were not that severe in any rate. Hannah was relieved and turned before they left for the meal to thank the Spartan.

"Thank you…thank you for saving me."

"Not a problem Ma'am, you best get some meals and I'll see to getting you some spare change of clothes."

John knew that they needed to get some clothes in order to blend in and avoid being seen so for now, they would have to make sure that they were not going to be found. As for him, that meant that some shopping was in order. He certainly was not going to get anything done in that area by being in the armor so he would have to figure out how to do it without being recognized.

John however decided that he would just have to steal in order to get what he needed, it was not the first time he did it and he was not going to be in the wrong. Just some simple clothes and that would be invaluable to help keep their identities off the loop. With that done, John began to work with Cortana on how to find the next person in the list of people that they knew that they had to rescue.

For now, they needed to do some field recon to get a more personal bird's eye view of the city and hopefully get an idea on the best possible routes on the ground to get and locate the next target as well as take those clothes that he knew that would need at a much later date. With that in mind, he moved to inform Michelle of his plans and after informing them, he moved out to do what he needed to do.

The Active Stealth Camouflage module soon kicked in and he was now blending in and moving out, but not before stocking up on spare ammunition from the weapons and ammunition that he had confiscated earlier. This supply would really be an aid for the mission and at least this time around he was not going to rely on supply drops. The Spartan still needed to keep himself out of the lime light and avoid incoming civilian traffic so he mostly moved in the back alleys and on occasion, on the roofs of houses to make sure that he was able to avoid encountering the wrong people and accidentally revealing himself to the residents of Roanapur.

He could only hope that he was going to be able to get the job done and avoid company, it was already midday and there was no telling just what was going to happen in the rest of the day in Roanapur. He needed to secure some clothes for his rescued targets and also do the recon run to make sure that he had a good entrance run into the territory of Hotel Moscow. He also needed to observe them to see their routines to calculate the best possible entry and exit points that could avoid their forces.

…

In the site of the Crimson Bond Society's now ruined base that had just been vacated by John and his charge an hour later…

"Whoa…what a fucking mess…"

Revy replied as she, Rock, Benny, and Dutch looked over the place, they were not alone in this as Boris, Eda, and Shenlua were with them. Boris naturally represented Hotel Moscow, while Shenlua represented the Triads, and Eda with the Church of Violence and the CIA. The second they got wind of the attack, they moved in to get some evidence as the police were still gridlocked, Benny had guided them to the site without getting caught in traffic. The sight of the men who were there and all of them cut down with frightening efficiency , made many think that this was either to work of Revy, or Roberta, but the fact that Revy was elsewhere Roberta was nowhere in sight made those ideas go up in smoke. Revy said that as the place looked like a slaughter house, reminding her of Sawyer's office as it were.

Eda looked at them and she could see that while some died with bullets in their body, the others were killed by methods that resulted in knife kills and hand to hand combat moves.

"Whoever did this attack had some serious military precision, definitely not Revy's work."

"Hey! What the fuck gave you the idea that I had anything to do with this. I like a good fight and all, but I certainly don't recall any of these pricks pissing me off."

"Yeah right…but I'm telling the truth, there's no way this was your work at all. I don'tlike where this might lead to, but there's no other way to say it."

Boris then replied.

"I agree with Eda on this one…these men were military personnel armed with high grade technology, for them to be taken out like this means that whoever attacked them was better equipped than they were."

Revy snorted while the others looked about and that was when Shenlua spoke out.

"This new."

The others came over to the Taiwanese Assassin and saw just what she was talking about. There was a massive hole in the wall and it was both wide and high enough for several people to go out from. Revy looked it over and snorted as she spoke.

"Big fucking deal, the glasses bitch and Sawyer could do that too."

"That true…but Roberta not here, and no sign of Sawyer's actions here."

Dutch nodded as he looked at the hole critically and replied.

"Shenlua's got a point there Revy, no way was this Sawyer and Roberta's doing. No sign of chainsaw blades on the wall and certainly no use of gun powder and explosives at all. And if this was Sawyer's doing, you can bet that the vast majority of these guys would be cut to confetti, not shot up. And there's no reason for Roberta to come here and fight them either so there was no way this was her doing, unless these guys kidnapped Garcia and that is not possible since if it was, she would be here already."

Boris looked about and saw what appeared to be the blown away section of said wall and looked it over and he couldn't help but make a comment.

"That's because whoever did that didn't use explosives…he or she KICKED the wall."

The group looked at the section of wall and saw the boot prints and they each spoke out with Eda taking the lead.

"Damn…"

Dutch whistled and Benny couldn't help but speak.

"What was this guy eating and where can I get some?"

Rock shook his head and Revy spoke.

"Fucking hell…he kicked the wall down? How is that possible?"

Shenlua then spoke.

"For once, agree with Twinkie here, how this possible?"

Rock then looked about the building and saw that the place had a lot of bullet holes and while he was not ballistic forensics expert, he knew enough to know that this was not Revy's work since the ammunition casings that littered the place were the same that supposedly been found in the first hideout belonging to the Crimson Bond Society. This was enough to tell him that the guy who attacked this group could very well be the same guy that decimated the force yesterday.

"Guys, I have a feeling that the one who attacked this place might be the same guy who attacked the Crimson Bond Society yesterday."

Eda smiled at that and replied.

"Pretty accurate guess there Rock, shows your brain power is a load better than most."

Revy did not like that and was about ready to screw the hell with the job and get into a shooting match when Dutch shook his head and replied.

"We've got work to do here Revy, now is not the time to go shooting each other, this is not one of the best times. Whoever the hell's been doing this is a professional."

Benny carried one of his portable laptops and replied.

"Dutch is right, but I get the feeling he or she was not alone, take a peek at this."

The group looked as Benny began to explain the whole sequence of events playing out before them.

"I checked out the records from the power company and the traffic control center…nothing new right now, but during the last hours, there was a three second power failure…and then the traffic control center suddenly had the entire place gridlocked. Namely here in the area leading to this place was suddenly locked down for a full half hour."

"Interesting…"

"That's just the icing on the cake…this happened in less than twelve seconds apart. This means that they had some serious help from a hacker, and no doubt that the hacker in question had one hell of a sweet rig."

Dutch chuckled and replied.

"Are you telling me you've got some competition Benny-boy?"

Benny turned and gave a slight glare though without any malice to Dutch and replied.

"Hahaha, I have no idea, but whoever did this is no amateur, I can try and find out what I can about this character. If he or she is helping our new player, then I'll do what I can to find their base of operations."

Rock then replied.

"I have a feeling that it is not going to be that simple, why I do not know why I feel that way, but I think finding the hacker in question is not going to be easy. And there's no telling what can happen if he or she gets angry."

Revy then replied.

"Rock's got a point there Benny, you sure you want to tango with this character?"

Benny smiled and replied.

"Why not? I'm the best hacker here in Roanapur apart from my girlfriend, this new guy or lady should be a challenge."

Benny had NO idea just who he had just declared war on.

…

Unknown to them, they were not the only ones looking at the mess. While the police were soon making it to the site, there were people already looking at the ruined base. One of them removed his binoculars and spoke in a very calm manner.

"Looks like they got themselves killed, what a shame, and all the materials we gave them did nothing."

He reached out to get a radio and spoke to it as the others were already getting ready to move out from the area and get things on the move. And on the ground a certain band of now disguised Joes were also getting to the area to see if they could get some information on what the heck had just happened there.

Things in Roanapur were about to heat up.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

I have returned!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my readers, and now I am going to get back into gear with my works so expect some chapters soon hopefully before the New Year. The character model for Hannah is based on Agent BloodRyane though she obviously is not the same as the said dhampire babe. I hope that this is enough for all readers since I have been gone for a while, and if not, I can work on it at a much later date.

…

Well, we have rescued one of Michelle's friends and so far it seems that the people in Roanapur are now busy trying to figure out just who was crazy enough to attempt this kidnapping of the US President's daughter. And finding the massacre the Chief left behind in the complex would be the very first indication that there are forces at work here that are not native to Roanapur's power structure. And if anyone asks me if there will be a chance that Revy and John will fight one another, and then the answer is yes…just not right now.

John naturally has a time table to work with, get the President's daughter and her friends back to their respective parents before all hell breaks loose in Roanapur. Sure hell has broken loose there before, but that has not been able to spread; now this is REALLY going to get everything cooking like mad. The way this goes is that with the forces that call Roanapur home, and some of them have very little love for the US and knowing that the daughter of the leader of their most hated enemy and her friends are in their backyard is going to send more than a fair share of opportunistic ideas into more than one person's cranium.

If John can get Michelle and her friends out before hell breaks loose, it's a win for him and Cortana as well as for the people of Roanapur since this will prevent them from being in a situation where a blood bath is a certainty.

Of course there will be opposition since let's face it, there's no such thing about a mission of this magnitude not having people interested in getting involved. And there will be a lot of tension in Roanapur and as such, tempers will be high and there will always be someone willing to play devil's right hand here and cause all sorts of chaos.

As for the meeting between John and Rock, that might happen and also the scenes I made will indeed be included. There will be agents of Cobra in Roanapur who will also be interested on how things play out. What they will do here is up to me though feel free to guess their intentions towards Roanapur.

…

And it seems that the Joes, or at least a number of them are taking the initiative to confirm this information. And they are currently in their way to Roanapur to see if they can get more information and locate her before the other criminal elements decide to take a shot at doing something that no one would expect. Of course knowing who are in the team, this will be interesting as well.

And it can really make things a bit more hectic once it become apparent that the Joes are now in Roanapur to try and end the possible powder keg of trouble before the President sends out the Battle group. This should make things a lot more interesting namely when the Joes might land themselves in the situation where facing off with the gangs of Roanapur is going to be unavoidable.

Also the scenes I made in the previous chapter are still going to be used and you can bet that they will be played the way you have seen them and I will make sure to do some more scenes that I hope that will be enough for the day.

…

Anyhow, I would like to mention that I will eventually put this story on hold to update my other works, and also get ready for the possibility that I will have to let my house get demolished and have it rebuilt. Not the most loved idea in my mind, but an entirely necessary one either way. SO that means I might not be able to update for a while afterwards so don't be surprised if I go dark next year for a while.

Once I get my internet back and I have a new place to call home, I'll be updating once more and hopefully finish some of my work and try out some new ideas though I will already be working to earn my own money to help pay the bills and the like to keep myself alive and kicking. I won't be much of a writer if I can't pay the bills and buy the food and drink I need to stay breathing after all.

Also I am tempted to try two or rather three new Halo crossover ideas…

One has John and Cortana dropping into the Red Alert 3 universe and aiding the Allies in fighting the Soviets and the Empire. The other has John landing in the DC universe of the Justice League in the TV series, not the comics. And the last has John into the Fallout universe, though it will be done my way.

I might cook up some Mass Effect Lemons also, though no Yaoi stuff, I can make some Yuri scenes but no Yaoi.

See you later!


	14. Chapter 14

G.I Joe Halo

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to G.I Joe or Halo, so I don't make money of out of this…shame really.

Chapter 13

Meeting with a Bang

( ): Thoughts

…

In the streets of Roanapur…

John looked over the areas of the stalls that sold clothes for men and women. These were merely hand me down types of clothing, but these were normal civilian clothes and as such were not going to attract attention to their wearer. He was in the market for clothes that were in that area to disguise Hannah and Michelle if they needed them so he moved quickly and looked the clothes over.

He had managed to get an exact measurement of both Michelle and Hannah's body shapes and sizes, this allowed him to find the right clothes that would be comfortable for the two. Once he found them by looking at the stalls carefully while hiding in a nearby corner of the market place, he quickly activated his Active Stealth Camouflage Module and moved in. He quickly waited as the stall owner's back was turned and took the clothes he saw were the ones he needed and moved away, but not before leaving a set of payment. After all, he might be stealing the clothes, but at least he was going to pay for them.

…

"What the?"

The stall owner swore in Thai as she spotted a number of her clothes were taken from her stall, and before she could even notice as well. She tried to find the culprit who stole the items but saw nothing as the number of people in the area were not reacting if there had been a theft in their vicinity. She then noted an envelop and took it to see what was it doing there.

The very second that she opened it, she was amazed to find a large number of crisp American dollar bills. She looked one over carefully and found no flaws or signs that it was a fake. And with Greenback Jane no longer there in the city, there was little reason for her to think that these were false.

Even so, she decided to keep the envelop and have the money checked out and if the bills there in the envelop would be deemed as the real thing, then she was happy. It still confused her on who stole her clothes, but if they paid her with this kind of money then she was not going to complain for nothing as she had been already paid for the clothes.

…

Back in the hideout…

John returned to the place and soon deactivated the Active Stealth Camouflage Module to cool it up and give his latest acquisitions to the ones who he knew needed them. Once he got back into the base, he placed the clothing which was in his rucksack out for them to use while he and Cortana began to work on returning to their recon run, they had enough time for that and they decided to check the latest news from the US.

And so far as Cortana managed to show him a live video feed in the MJOLNIR's helmet, while the regular news was expected, he checked on the stocks of his company and while business and economics was not his short of thing, he did learn quick enough in order to be a good head. He placed that information aside for now and checked on the progress of the negotiations within the White House.

The reports were not too good, naturally as expected, the leaders of the Asian nations which were near Roanapur were not too keen on having a carrier battle group in their waters though they did understand to some degree the power there, considering where they were going and the reputation Roanapur had and it's residents.

As such, there were still four days, a good deal of time that John was going to take full advantage of. Once he was done reading the reports, he directed himself to call in the company's executive board who he had left in charge of the company while he was away on 'special' matters that required him to leave the office.

'Good Morning, Halsey Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Research Corp, this is Carol Maxwell, how can I help you?"

"It's me."

"Oh! Director Mendez, it's good to hear from you sir."

Carol was his company's secretary and had survived the initial attack of Cobra, and instead of retiring, she chose to stay as she had already gotten used to living in Reach and found it to be a good place to call home. And her skills were very good as well, she also happened to be a good person with integrity as she had retired from a company who's boss had tried to harass her and coerce her to do favors that bordered on sexual harassment. She won the case and had been looking for work ever since. He offered her the job and she took it, and found her new work to be fulfilling and she had begun to court one of the security workers there, something that her boss did not discourage as long as they were doing their work well.

"Likewise Carol, how are things in the company?"

The secretary gave her boss a running report on the latest happening in the company while he was away, and she also filled him in on the recent increase in the company's numbers of employees who were asking to work in the research and development department. She also informed him of the fact that the new employees all checked out well.

"How about the families of the lost security and staff that we lost in the attack on the company, how are they holding up Carol?"

"They have been well taken care of as per your requests Mr. Mendez and they have fully recovered. I believe that they left a message thanking you for the emotional, financial, and logistic support that you gave them after that tragedy. They wished to ask you to come by their homes at some point when you are available for a social matter."

"I see, I'll make a note to do that when I return from my plans here. At any rate, I have recently checked our company's stocks in the Business channels here where I am, they seem to be fairly stable."

"Yes sir, despite the attack on the company and the town by Cobra, our products are selling better than we hoped and production had increased. Businesses in Reach are still going strong so the town is still very much a viable community. The Executive Board is currently planning a meeting to help with new plans on products and other ventures for the company."

"Are they following the guidelines I have set out?"

"Yes sir, they are following the strict guidelines."

"Good, I have some orders to leave behind for them, the managers, as well as the security team leaders. I will be back in a number of days so I expect them to make full reports when I arrive and also I want to arrange a meeting with the company staff three weeks from now."

John relayed his orders to his secretary with no trouble and these were sound decisions as Carol replied that she would personally report them to the company staff, board, and their officers. Once that was out of the way, John bid her farewell and cut the communications link and he mentally sighed.

Cortana then spoke to him in a relaxed but slightly teasing tone of voice.

"You look like you can use a break John."

"I suppose, running a business company AND running a military operation at the same time is not what I had in mind."

'I guess, playing businessman while you're filling targets with lead and avoiding the same being done to you must not be the most basic of life styles. But we've made it this far."

"True, we should go back and do some recon work while we still have the time to do so."

"Right, but before we do, we should check to see if the Joes have been up to something, I doubt being idle when this is going on is in their itinerary for the month."

…

Back at the Pitt…

Duke looked over at the incoming reports from the team he and General Hawk had dispatched as he and Mainframe as well as Dial-tone were busy keeping track of their team in Roanapur. They had been able to set up shop there, well away from the known areas controlled by the various factions of criminals that called the place home. While the criminals in question were not as numerous or well armed as Cobra was, they were not to be underestimated.

And they also were thankful that with Wetsuit and Shipwreck being familiar with the place, they were going to be able to avoid trouble with the factions there in the island. Though it was natural that Scarlet had overall command of the mission due to her skills, rank and seniority in the team and they did have support if and when they needed it. It was not long before Mainframe reported that they were able to establish communications with the team currently in Roanapur.

Duke took it and soon on the screen was Scarlet.

"Scarlet, you reading us loud and clear over there?"

"You got it Duke, we've managed to set up in a warehouse complex a fair distance from the city and soon we're going to be moving out, but some serious activity has been happening here long before we ever landed on Roanapur."

"What sort of activity?"

Scarlett filled him in and she spoke that after the police had gone from the site, she and the others had managed to go in there and look about. They then found some evidence that was more than convincing that there was something going on that no one else would have bothered to look at. They had recovered a circuit board from the ruined computers there and when they downloaded the schematics, Mainframe looked it over and gave his report.

"That's a M.A.R.S computer circuit board, and we all know who owns that kind of a computer company as well as what they are used for."

The others nodded and Duke replied.

"So Destro's going out and selling his company's old gear as well. Those might be older models, but they are still cutting edge work when compared to regular systems. That must mean that they were playing a part in the kidnapping by either providing supplies and equipment, or intelligence, or even both. Though for what reason we still have no idea. What else did you and the others find there Scarlett?"

Scarlett then replied.

"I've got a feeling that we are not alone here Duke."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, we scanned the area and found a part of the wall was kicked down."

Duke raised an eyebrow and was quick to pick up what that meant.

"You think Leonidas is here Scarlet?"

"That's a major possibility to say the very least, we're still not very sure if that is the truth, but if he is here, then things around here are going to be rather interesting."

"I'll bet, but let's not make any assumptions until we get more evidence, what did you find out about the people who used to call that place home?"

"The bodies were moved out so we don't have much clue as to who they were at the moment, but what we found was that they were well armed and carried some serious firepower, but they looked like they got hit hard, judging from the mess left behind. This might tell us that Leonidas was here though like you said Duke, we're not making any full assumptions just yet on the matter."

"All right, do what you can and we'll keep things up top around here."

"Roger that."

…

In the area of Roanapur controlled by Hotel Moscow…

John moved though the shadows as afternoon began to give way to night, it was not going to be an easy thing as he had to avoid a number of patrols in the area as it seemed that while they were trying to maintain a sense of a public face. Hotel Moscow did make a habit of having some of their men moving about to keep an eye on their territory.

He observed the moving patrols and was doing so not just by hiding in the shadows but also by infiltrating the buildings nearby as best he could and observing them. He could tell who among the numbers of people moving down there in the area of the city were the members of Hotel Moscow. This was due to the way they moved and walked, as well as hearing them talk in certain terms that matched with Russian Mafia language and code communications. As he recorded everything, he moved through the area and kept his eye and ears open while keeping to the shadows, by far this was the longest he had ever used the Module and he knew that it was getting a heck of a workout.

As he moved through the place, he combed it carefully and soon spotted something a bit out of place, there seemed to be a complex of some sort that looked like the usual apartment complex. But with this being Roanapur, he doubted that there was anything usual about the place. And sure enough he noted that there seemed to be some awfully secured areas that had the proverbial number of people in them. They seemed to come and go as pairs and appeared to be dressed like regular civilians at first glance, John however noted some odd behavior in them as they acted too normal.

People acted normally in many fashions, but those who acted too normally or were trying to act as normal too perfectly usually rang alarm bells in observant people. And John was one of them though nowhere near as effectively as some of his other Spartans. He also ran their faces on the usual channels on Roanapur's database with Cortana's help. And sure enough these people were not in the records as theirs had been heavily doctored, couple that with the fact that they were in an area that was within the range of Hotel Moscow without attracting attention, meant that they were up to something.

There was no doubt these guys were good as it had taken some time for John to identify them as being unknown, though the question on if they were Crimson Bond Society agents was still unknown for now. He would have to find something that would tag them, and there was also the question if this was indeed their base of operations. While the data helped him locate Hannah, there was also the chance that the group would have moved the other women to more secure locations in light of Michelle and Hannah's rescue from their clutches.

And the less friendly option was the possibility that they would have killed the one they had held hostage to prevent any possible rescue attempt. As he was doing these calculations as darkness overtook the city, he was soon informed by Cortana that something of great importance had come up.

"John, the Joes are here."

"Are you sure about that Cortana?"

The A.I gave a mock glare and him, speaking with a mock tone of shock.

"I am sure about that John, since when have I ever made an error?"

"That time with the first Halo Ring's teleportation system comes to mind."

"You're never going to let me forget will you?"

"Not exactly, but all jokes aside we knew they were going to show up sooner or later in this place, I can wager a guess that they came here to locate, confirm, and possibly rescue Michelle and her friends in an independent action."

Cortana smiled at that.

"Right on the money in that regard, it was a good move on the part of the Joes as well since considering how the leaders of the Asian nations are reacting, it's better to resolve this quietly before others spin this the wrong way. I can guess that the reason they were not sent out earlier was due to not having enough data and also the risks involved with the people who call this place home.

"Right."

John then pulled back for now as the Active Stealth Camouflage Module was soon out of power, not only that, he would have to reload and pack up whatever supplies he might need in the field, make sure that a new location to hide Michelle and Hannah would be found and secured. And lastly, he needed to make sure that if anyone did find the location, he could clean house and leave no trace.

He knew however that time was of the essence since there was a chance that they would move the next person out or just plain kill her. Once he got back he spoke to Michelle that he had an idea on where one of her friends was being held and he had every intention to rescue her if she was in the location.

The Spartan then moved out of the area and headed back into the territory of Hotel Moscow, he made sure to avoid the patrols of Hotel Moscow agents while keeping to the shadows along with avoiding attracting attention to himself in his approach. Once he was in the territory of the Russians, the Spartan moved to the area where the potential targets were. The compound was still there and the moving plain clothed guards were present still.

He moved in through the dark and spotted what appeared to be cameras that were the well hidden kind, not something that a normal security firm would use. This further reinforced his belief that these were indeed the ones that he was looking for, the Spartan looked at the cameras and they looked to be smaller and very much the kind to be used in covert locations. Cortana likewise saw the very same thing and she spoke to John.

"No house certainly requires that level of security unless there's something in there that no one wants others to find out or look for."

The Spartan looked and saw that it was a thermal camera and also looked to see that the thermal image camera was also the kind that used a night vision mode. The good news that his Stealth system could cloak him and the thermal mode was neutralized by the MJOLNIR's temperature regulation systems as it could cloak it's thermal imprint as well as his own. He used those features as he quickly moved over the walls by leaping over it with the assistance of the nearby building. He landed quietly and was soon in the compound, he however became still as he decided to locate anything that could allow him to figure out the security systems of the compound.

…

Inside the compound's inner area…

The Spartan looked carefully at the door and spotted a custom alarm nearby, it resembled a laser alarm and could be mistaken as one and could be blocked, but he looked carefully and noted a seismic sensor so it would be sensitive to movement. This was an excellent alarm as it fooled unwary observers and he quickly decided to use a trick to get the doors opened. He took out his Combat Knife and used it act as a reflector.

As soon as he 'defeated' the laser alarm, he quickly shook the device to trigger the seismic alarm. He then moved away and headed for the door to the complex, Cortana scanned the area and as they hid in plain sight as it were, he moved into the building as a band of armed men came out from the building. He moved in quickly and was soon in the base itself, it became obvious that despite the way the place looked, he noted that the construction of the walls as well as the positioning of the furniture would make it an excellent place to set up traps and ambushes.

The Spartan then moved deeper, keeping his eyes and ears open as well as routinely scanning the rooms with his sensors with Cortana adding an extra screen of security. As they moved deeper into the building, the place's layout became more obvious. This was some sort of old business complex that had been used before as some sort of smuggler's hideout and storage area, the sings of battles were there as there were holes gashes that the Spartan could see resembled bullets.

He stopped and went into cover as he detected three contacts and waited as he spotted the three. They appeared to be three agents and they were certainly different. They appeared to be wearing some form of combat uniform though he could see that there was actually light weight armor plating there, which was no doubt ceramic armor plating, the armor however covered only key areas that needed them while leaving freedom of movement.

The Spartan examined them in detail, noticing that the suits they were was designed to use mostly hard rubber as well as special fabrics that seemed to make little to no noise. This meant that while this armor was able to protect the wearer, it was geared more for stealth operations. The weapons carried by them also correlated to that as they seemed to be carrying MP5s with integrated silencers and tactical sights along with extended magazines, they also carried Berettas with silencers along with combat knives. He also spotted some advanced communications gear on them along with a strange opaque band of reflective metal over their eyes.

Cortana then spoke to him about those said devices in the faces of the agents.

"Those appear to be some sort of sensor package, kind of like a HUDs for soldiers. Experimental technology from the looks of it, and the suit is geared to make little to no noise, very useful in sneaking about."

"Are there on record in the MARs database?"

"Some but what I have gathered it appears to be some sort of experimental sensor suite package for soldiers in the field, it's still in development from what I can read in the files and the same can be said for the suits these guys are wearing. And that tells me one possible thing that could explain why Cobra supplied the Crimson Bond Society."

"They're using them as test subjects?"

"Exactly, what better way to field test new gear than by hiring people to test them out? That must by why they are using older MARs technology and new ones as well. I won't be surprised if there are other new technologies that the other groups of this Society have on hand."

John understood that and decided that he had to be careful as he moved further into the building, he managed to locate what appeared to be the entrance of the lower floors of the building. He opened it and soon moved into the lower floors, doing his best to keep silent and unseen, however, he knew that a fight would soon break out. He arrived at a nearby room and silently moved in, keeping his entry quiet and closed the door. He accessed the nearby bank of computer systems and found them to be those of MARs, yet another sign that Cobra indeed had a hand here. But the technology was of better quality, not the older models he had found before.

Cortana then spoke to him after he got the confirmation that she had done her best to study the key systems in the machine itself.

"This is a good system, but now is not the right time, I've located their hostage, it's Veronica, she's a few floors here and alive…but she's been drugged."

"Drugged? How badly is she drugged?"

"Badly, she's being broken by them to be an addict and since they control the supply of drugs here, she will soon becoming a willing person to them. So far she is resisting, but not for long, we have to get her out fast and use the supplies we have to burn that stuff out of her system before she losses herself."

John nodded as he quickly moved out, but that was then when his Stealth Module gave out and had to recharge…just as a band of agents came into the room.

John swore mentally but exploded into action and quickly killed the three agents by bludgeoning them to death with close combat attacks. But that was when warning klaxons filled the room, apparently the agents had some sort of trigger system in their armor. John looked at one of them and noted some sort of vital sign scanner system pack. It was mobile scanner pack used to check heart rate, brain activity, breathing and the usual signs to determine a living being.

And this has been conditioned to act as some sort of alarm system if the user was killed somehow. The agents were not only the guards, but also serving as mobile alarms and sentries. John had to give them credit for that and so did Cortana, but that would have to wait as his Motion Tracker began showing red marks everywhere and all of them were moving towards his location.

Cortana then spoke to him.

"Looks like Stealth is out of the question now, time to go loud."

"Roger that."

It was not long before the battles raged as the agents of the Crimson Bond closed in and John was now fighting a battle in the building. The groups operated in the same fashion as the previous force, though they operated more as an urban combat fire team with two of them providing support fire while the other two would routinely do the same or chunk grenades in his direction. The Spartan managed to kill his attackers while using his superior reflexes to either grab the grenades and send them back at his attackers or shoot them before they left the handler's hands.

The results were violent and bloody as many of the agents fell, but that hardly meant that they were going to be easy as they used cover as well as open firing angles to shoot at him, they were also armed with P90s as well as to John's slight surprise, XM8 Assault Rifles with tactical assessment packages as they fired several darts filled with tranquilizer drugs on him even though they realized that he was wearing armor.

The Spartan was quick to fire at them and soon the area was filled with blood, bullets, the smell of gun powder, explosions, and more as he fought the enemy. They were well equipped and had excellent tactics as the ones armed with XM8s fought like designated marksmen in areas where there was a fairly open area with cover, they even used the upper areas of the floors to stage ambushes as well as to throw grenades at the two of them.

John countered at that and was soon moving through the large rooms that made the lower floor and at times had to contend with not just the agents, but also the traps that were all over the place as some were claymore mines, others were high frequency traps as well as gas traps, all designed to take him down and render him helpless. He gave the Crimson Bond forces here that they were better equipped, and they were geared for not just urban combat but also quick take downs and also covert assaults. Their equipment and weapons of choice reflected that very well to him and Cortana.

This was the same situation as he continued to move to the other floors as there had been plenty of traps, agents and more for him to get past and it was obvious that while they were not as numerous as the ones he had killed before, they were not quitters and they would not even hesitate to try using suicide tactics if they had to as several of them even tried to use their grenades by pulling the pins and charging at him like suicide bombers. This forced John to kill them quickly with brutal headshots that spilled blood and brain matter all over the place. It was also when he noticed that the pillars and critical support structures that held the building together were strapped with high grade military demolition explosives. This was an odd feature to him, at least for a moment or two until he guessed the reason as to why they were there in the first place.

(They were placed here to level the complex.)

"I couldn't agree more John, judging by the amounts there as well as their placement, the explosives could severely cripple the structural integrity of the building and bury the people here. These guys don't mess around at all, got to give them credit for that."

"We can admire them later…any idea how these would be set off?"

"Nothing yet…hold up…we're getting close but I am picking up several contacts in the last room below, be ready."

John nodded as he moved down and took out the last guards in the stairwell, he moved carefully as he had half of his ammunition used up due to the area of the base of the Crimson Bond. John looked over the door and quickly kicked it hard to force it open as it was like the door that one would expect in a navy ship.

But that was when he was greeted by several Flash bangs.

John quickly used his MJOLNIR's systems to shield himself from the effects of both the Flash and sonic blast as the Flash-bang Grenades thrown at him exploded. Three Flash-bang Grenades going off at the same would have fried anyone's eyeballs and turned anyone's ear drums into confetti. But the Spartan was all right and the activation of his Active Stealth Camouflage Module allowed him to fade into the shadow and walls as the strike team came into view, no doubt thinking that their foe was blinded.

John made them pay for it as he killed them quickly and soon the last of the resistance was down and out in a bloody mess. John ignored that and moved to check the door which held Veronica. The door had no traps at least on his side and he decided to open the door after spotting a finger print scanner as well as a retinal scanner. John shrugged and took out a sharp knife.

He used the knife to cut the fingers of the last agents as well as their take out their eyes, it was a messy thing to do and highly disgusting, but he doubted that he had other choices. The agents here had no identifying marks on them and their gear to signify their rank, a wise move in his mind and as such, he was banking on the men he killed being the last officers.

It took some time but after sorting through five fingers and five eye balls, he got the door opened and there was Veronica, she was wounded as well, no doubt from trying to resist and though she had bandages, she was very much still healthy. He looked to see a number of drugs there, some included packs of heroin and morphine as well as cocaine, the first two drugs were in liquid form and seemed to be fed into Veronica like an IV drop and in regulated amounts as well. The cocaine was in the powder form and was no doubt given to her when she was awake.

John was disgusted by this but checked her condition, she was alive but her body showed already the effects of the drugs and she had to be taken out quickly. It was here that the monitoring system on her to check her condition served as the detonating trigger.

Cortana whistled at this but guided him on how to get her free but warned him to get moving once she was free since they had no idea what sort of triggering system was being used. He agreed with that and when he did so, he moved out quickly with her in his arms. And this was a bad thing has he had no weapons to defend himself. That was when the bombs went off, apparently the explosives were on some form of delay timer as the explosions only kicked in seconds after he got Veronica free.

The Spartan pushed himself to high gear as dust, small chunks of debris, metal shards, and more began to fall all over the place and he had to make sure that he kept Veronica's head covered, she was totally out of it which was a good thing as he moved to get her out as the building began to fall apart above and around him.

It was like a race from hell as the building fell apart quickly, showing that the explosives were really kicking things into high gear as walls, beams, and support columns fell all over the place and the Spartan was hard pressed to keep his charge from being injured or killed by the stuff. John then rushed to the door and without hesitation angled his shoulder to be the first part of him and charged into the door like a battering ram.

BOOM!

The door flew out as the Spartan quickly corrected himself and leaped up into the buildings to get some distance as the building complex behind him was soon nothing more than a burning ruin.

As John looked at the ruined complex, he sighed and focused on getting Veronica back to the hideout and get her treated as quickly as possible. The drugs already had a hold on her and time was running out. Already he could see that Hotel Moscow was moving in as well as the fire department and as such, he needed to disappear.

Veronica moaned and he had to quickly quiet her gently as he took out some Polypseudomorphine from a pack on his leg that he kept if he needed it and injected it into her to make her go back to sleep for now. With her restrained he made the move and was soon out of the area, but had to be extra careful due to the increased number of people in the area. It took longer than he liked but he was soon in the hideout and he made his arrival clear, and when Hannah and Michelle saw the state their friend was in, they did not hesitate in getting anything they needed to help treat her.

…

In the hideout…

Hannah and Michelle looked over at their friend Veronica with a great deal of concern as John was busy using his medical gear to heal her wounds as well as use a special cleansing drug to flush the drugs out of her system without any ill effects. They had tried to break her mind in the same fashion as Hannah, only in this case, they tried to use drugs to do it. And from what John could see, it was working.

Thankfully the use of his company's new serum that was used to counter a number of drug addiction, it was a variant of the drug known as Narcolytic Metabolase but had been made to be able to counter drugs such as cocaine, morphine, heroin, as well as some other drugs that if taken in high amounts could be deadly to the person's body by consuming them as well as shielding the affected parts from further damage. It was clear that if they were able to make Veronica an addict, then it would be easier to control her in more ways than one. The new variant had been rigorously tested and had passed several FDA tests that it had been given. The drug was soon to be released in a few months time and would be given to clinics and hospitals to help counter addictions from drugs.

John had a feeling that if made in large batches, the serum would be a serious threat to drug lords but would be a life saver for addicts and people who had addicts in their families as it burned away the effects of drug use and allowed the body to recover as well as adjust over time. The UNSC had a serious ban on all deadly and illegal drugs, with the advent of new and safer medical drugs as well as some synthetic forms, most drugs such as cocaine and heroin fell from general use, while some such as morphine was still in use though in very limited qualities due to the presence of it's synthetic counterpart to avoid possible addiction to the real thing. And most drugs were usually regulated strictly by the UNSC Medical Corps so it was not surprising that anyone caught with illegal drugs got very stiff fines or there sent to prison.

As soon as he was done taking out some of the shrapnel from her wounds and applying the medication, he checked her vitals as Hannah spoke to him.

How is she doing?"

"She's all right, and the drugs in her system are starting to lose their hold on her, any longer and it would have been much harder to break the grip the drugs on her."

Hannah looked worried and Michelle was understandably furious as she swore.

"Bastards…every last one of them , there's no other way to call them, to do this to Roni as if she was not a human being and try to make her a slave."

John did not bother with replying as he checked on Veronica's status as he ran the medical scanner on her body to check her status. So far she would recover, but moving her was somewhat risky as she needed time to recover from the injuries she suffered as well as any lingering effects of the drugs that were pumped into her system by the agents. He would have to secure a form of transportation for her as well as Michelle and Hannah. But that was not going to be easy as Roanapur didn't exactly have a viable system of transportation and vehicles here were either illegally bought, or had been sent to chop shops for changes and no doubt would be easy to spot.

He knew that options were low however so he had to think on the fly.

He moved back as Veronica began to wake up and she looked around her to see Hannah and Michelle who looked at her with utter relief as Michelle spoke.

"Roni, you all right?"

"No bloody way in hall am I all right…but I guess it could have…been worse."

The others nodded and Veronica turned to see the Spartan who was now 'talking' to the BATs in ODST gear, she gasped as she began to recall the man who had come in and terminated the people who had held her prisoner. Her reactions was not lost to her companions as Michelle spoke.

"It's all right, he's with us, he rescued me and Hannah yesterday."

"W-Who is he?"

"Leonidas of Spartan Company, some sort of PMC if you call them that. They were not hired by my father but came here when they heard about the kidnapping."

Veronica groaned a bit at that as Hannah then brought her some water, it was clean and fresh which was obvious to Veronica as she took in the water gladly. Once she was done with the drink, she moved to check her injuries and she was happy that she was going to be all right though she still hurt like hell from all the injuries that she had gotten earlier from her captors and following her rescue.

She then spoke to the others on what was going to happen this time around.

"So…are we going to be rescued by anyone apart from him?"

Michelle shook her head at that somewhat.

"I'm not sure, my dad's already getting some support into sending a Battle group, but it's not going to be an easy thing to pull off, even for him. But if that happens, then things around here are going to get really bad and no doubt there is going to be a lot of things that can go wrong. That's why I believe that we need to be rescued long before anything happens that can't be taken back. And I have to say that I am sorry about this, these guys came after us for a reason, they came after me to get to my dad."

"What do you mean?"

Michelle told them about what she learned about their kidnappers and afterwards Hannah spoke.

"So they are after revenge?"

"Seems like it now that I think about it, but I have a feeling that revenge was not the only reason they kidnapped me, if it was, then why didn't they demand a ransom or some other demand from my father? They had done something to me namely by taking some of my blood, what that was for is something that I have no idea about but I certainly doubt that it's for a good cause."

It was not long before the Spartan soon joined them while the three disguised BATs were now on the move to take John's orders into effect. He then spoke to the women there in a calm tone as he knew that they were not going to like what he had in mind.

"We need to move out of here soon, so get ready and be prepared to move out."

Naturally there reacted the way he had anticipated, which was not in a good mood to say the very least.

"You can't be serious!"

"We can't stay here Michelle, if we do, sooner or later we are going to be found and we can't risk that. I can stabilize your friend so she will not be in serious danger. I and my fellow Spartan Company agents can fight back, but protecting you far away from reinforcements and supplies is not going to be easy."

Michelle wanted to argue but she knew he had a point, sooner or later someone was going to come here and even if they did not come here at all, there was always a chance that something could happen. And if the Crimson Bond had been able to take out her Secret Service security detail before they even knew what was happening, then having agents scouring for her was not farfetched.

"All right then, but how can we do this?"

John had an idea as he had managed to locate a nearby truck that could be used to transport Veronica and the others, but time was limited to say the least and they had to move now.

"There is a truck that I can procure to help facilitate transport."

"You mean steal."

"Whatever works, I'm already getting into contact with some of my allies who can try and located a suitable hiding area for us, but that means we will have to postpone rescuing your friend Dana until we get you settled."

"I…I understand."

With that in hand, John began to make the move to have Veronica taken out of the warehouse while making sure that at least one of the BATs with them was on security duty. The other two were sent to secure Veronica for transport while he moved to locate the truck. It was still there and after fiddling with the wires to hotwire it quickly, he got the vehicle started. Thankfully it was a heavy duty model and as such, did not collapse the second he was in the driver's seat.

As soon as he was able to get the truck to the site, he and the people left their former base of operations, and John as well as Cortana made sure to remove any trace of habitation in the place that they had just vacated. This would make sure if anyone did go here, they would not know that there had been people in this seemingly abandoned location.

…

In the headquarters of Hotel Moscow, two days later since the incident…

It usually took a great deal of things to make the normally cool headed leader of Hotel Moscow to lose her temper. The discovery of the Crimson Bond Society's new base of operations in her group's back yard and knowing that neither she nor her soldiers had ANY idea that the slavery practicing group had been there was one such thing.

The second they learned of the destroyed complex and what the firemen as well as the Police found, it had sent a chill into the spines of every member of Hotel Moscow…not that they were afraid, but they were feeling the weight that came with the discovery.

The woman paced back and forth in her office, and while most people would have not noted the fury in her movements, everyone in Hotel Moscow could see the fury there easily. Boris remained silent as he knew that saying anything while Balalaika was like this was an open invitation to a very vicious tongue lashing, coupled with a promised beating. He had seen her do that to more than one person whether they were rebelling fellow Russians who turned out to be traitors, and captured Afghan fighters before she left the war and joined the Mafia along with him and the others who were there.

Balalaika turned and looked at a nearby table and without any hesitation, kicked it hard, spilling the contents to the ground and the others remained silent as their leader managed to get some of her frustration out of her system. Once that was done, she looked out of the window and was not pleased even though she was not taking into account the view that was outside. She then took out her phone and dialed a number.

She waited and soon spoke to an old contact of hers in the Russian military intelligence branch which was separate from the KGB, an organization that she had little to no love fore. The men remained silent, unwilling to disturb their leader as she spoke rapidly in Russian. As soon as it was over, she spoke to Boris quickly.

"I want a full crack down on all our warehouses, fronts, everything…we may deal in many things here in Hotel Moscow…but using drugs as a way to control people and sell people as slaves is NOT how we conduct business! I want any and all places searched from top to bottom, tear the places apart if you have to! Do you understand me Sergeant?"

"Yes Captain!"

"I want to know how in the name of Lenin did these bastards set foot here in OUR territory without anyone telling us anything! Contact Chang and have him and his people sweep their own areas as well, if they rooted themselves here in OUR territory, then those slimy bastards might have rooted themselves in his own lands as well."

"Yes Captain!"

Balalaika turned and gritted her teeth as her anger had been enough to make her own burns ache despite them not bothering her for a long time. This only happened when she was really angry, and this was one time that she was truly angry.

…

A day later…

It was not long before the whole area of Roanapur was in an uproar about what had happened in the area of Hotel Moscow, the Russians were already on the alert and were cracking down hard on all businesses that were in their control but had been doing irregular things or businesses not in their control but operating in areas under their control or at the borders of their areas of control. This was normally not unusual as they did this on a few occasions. But now the people of the Hotel Moscow were adding more intensity in their searches…and despite turning up a few errors from people who were actually trying to get an unwarranted cut on their profits for various reasons, they didn't seem to notice…it was obvious to the people who had been visited and had their places and businesses ransacked by the Russians that something had happened.

Already there were rumors that somehow some group had set up shop without Balalaika knowing about it. Said group got slaughtered but that had also managed to get on the bad side of the former soldier and naturally anything that managed to anger the woman was bound to make things in Roanapur a lot harder for everyone else.

This was not limited to Hotel Moscow as the Triads were also making their own sweep of their territory and making sure to check on the businesses that were operating in their territory but were not under their control, as well as those that were near their territory but also not under their control. This was more than enough to tell everyone in the city that the Triads had been informed by the Russians most likely to search their territories to find out if there was anything that was amiss.

The same could be said by many other groups and even known terrorist factions were currently making sweeps of the city. While the Hotel and the Triads were not resorting to outright violence, the other groups were not as discreet in their searches of the city itself and more than one store got torn up. The news of the President's daughter being held in Roanapur was more than enough to make many groups look about.

And this was not good in the eyes of one man who was still currently observing the city, John knew that the situation with the various groups either trying to secure their territory or look for the woman. But this increase in activity was not something he looked forward to as this would possibly reveal the location of Michelle and her friends. There was also the fact that there was a chance that the groups could easily attack them and while his BATs were able to hold their own, there were only three of them. Having reinforcements brought in was a viable option but not recommended as this would draw too much attention.

This was why he was going to have to track the leaders of the highest ranking gangs as to figure out their moves and how to best avoid them from interfering with his mission. This was also recommended by Cortana as there was no telling what could happen if their actions could alert the Crimson Bond Society and have them go on a rampage and kill the last person or they would bury her deep in Roanapur that even they would have difficulty in tracking her down as well as eliminating the last of the group and find out just what Cobra intended to do with the blood they took from Michelle and what they intended to accomplish by supplying the Crimson Bond Society with technology and weapons.

So far the group in question had gone dark but there was no telling just how they would react to the situation that was before them now that they had lost already a number of the people that they had kidnapped. He also began his operation in locating the Joes to keep an eye on them and figure out what their plans were, he had no intention of stopping them, in fact if he rescued Michelle's last friend he was going to help them in escorting the President's daughter and her friends out of Roanapur and then take his leave.

However, that plan was going to have to wait as he knew that while they could have contact with their fellow Joes, they would be limited in their assets here. He managed to read Shipwreck's file before and knew of his experiences in Roanapur which was why he managed to guess how they had been able to set up shop without having everyone in Roanapur get on their case.

At the moment, John was watching the moving vehicles that housed Balalaika as well as the men who formed the basis of her organization as they moved to the location where a special meeting was to be held for all elements in Roanapur, even the Cartels and the Mafia were coming along, a potentially dangerous mix in John's mind considering how the two organizations had been known to be too violent to be trusted and he had no doubt that some of them would have plans to try and eliminate the competition in such a meeting.

…

In an old section of the outskirts of Roanapur…

The cars that came in were those used by Hotel Moscow and the Triads as well as that of the Mafia and the Cartels, and even before they got out of the cars, the atmosphere became cold enough to make even a Polar bear wince as the groups looked at one another. The Triads and Hotel Moscow were on balanced terms with each other but the Mafia and the Cartels were hardly the stable kind as they looked at the others with dark eyes. Balalaika and Chang knew that this was not going to be easy with the two in the area and that was the reason why they hoped that they could get this all straightened out.

The meeting place was a former warehouse complex that was eventually run out of business and had been purchased by a former Triad house that used to be in Roanapur before Chang took over. Ever since then it changed hands from the Triads, to the Yakuza, the Cartels, the Mafia, and more…eventually it was considered neutral ground and as such was not taken over and redeveloped though it was kept clean enough to not make it look like a dump.

As they got ready for the meeting, the others arrived in the shape of Lagoon Company and Eda as they were curious on what was the course of action to be taken by the major factions in Roanapur. Unknown to them…they were going to have another visitor as a certain someone decided to keep an eye on things..

…

Inside the compound grounds…

The groups who came for the meeting were currently in what was once a ruined function/meeting hall and while it was intact, there were plenty of areas to hide in. All of these were currently under the watchful eyes of the various people there. John saw that and already there was quite the discussion brewing as the various leaders of the different factions were trying their best to get their points across without any of them screaming murder and shooting each other with lead.

On one side was Lagoon Company and the other was Eda, and they seemed to be busy though it seemed that Eda was in a conversation of her own on a cell phone though she was talking in a far different tone and kept her voice down as well.

All of them were being watched by John at the moment as he was going to make sure to avoid alerting anyone just yet as he needed to wait and listen to the plan. While there were plenty of words spoke in English, John was able to hear Russian as well as Chinese along with Italian and Spanish tongues. He also listened to Eda's conversations easily enough and what he heard was not very pleasing, it seemed that the agent was trying to figure out just who had leaked the information to the heads in Langley on Michelle being here.

This made John think on the possibility that Cobra had leaked the location of Michelle and her friends well ahead of the agents of the CIA, possibly with the aid of the Baroness as she was no doubt able to get into the CIA due to her skills as a covert ops agent but for what end was this was still lost to him. It was obvious to him that Cobra had an ulterior motive and the same was in Cortana's mind, testing their new gear from Destro's family company was one thing that made things less secretive, but there was bound to be more. For now they needed to know just what the moves of the factions were and if this was a benefit or a hindrance to his mission as this could be something that he could not afford to miss out on no matter how trivial.

Time was getting to be a precious resource as the deadline for the negotiations to be concluded and the Battle Group sent into the really make things even harder here.

….

Balalaika mentally swore in Russian at the way the Cartels and the Mafia were seeing things, they were actually suggesting that they find the kidnappers who took the President's daughter and use her as leverage for themselves. The Cartels she could understand well enough due to the president being a thorn on their side with his crack downs on their drug empires, as well as the Mafia due to the man's dedication to pressing hard on them despite their threats. But their suggestions of using the President's daughter as leverage and a way to get back at the man made them look even more insane in her eyes.

And she decided to make that clear to them.

"Have you all lost your minds?"

"Stay out of this Fry-face, this is a chance of a life time!"

Balalaika allowed that insult to slide for now but she knew that her men were not pleased even though they had heard it too many times already. She made a simple gesture of command and that was enough to convince Boris and the others to cool their heads. She however spoke once more to the men who led the Cartels and the Mafia.

"There's nothing to be gained by what you have in mind. Do you really think that it will be easy to get your hands on the woman and then use her as a bargaining chip?"

The current head of the Cartels, a man named Gonzalez replied to that with a smirk.

"Once we do…then we can have a chance to make that pig play our tune."

"And just how do you propose to do that?"

The arguments went on for a good while and it was getting on Revy's nerves, she normally would have either been out drinking at this time of the night, fighting in a bar and tearing the place, and then sleeping it all off.

Rock shook his head and Benny had to admit that this meeting was going to be one very long one. Dutch thought likewise but unlike his two male subordinates, he kept his focus as he knew that these discussion were needed. When he and the others learned of what had happened there in the areas controlled by Hotel Moscow, even they were surprised that the Crimson Bond Society actually managed to not only set up shop in Balalaika's turf but remain unnoticed until several days ago.

Chang then spoke to the leaders of the Cartel and the Mafia in a rather stern tone, showing that he was dead serious in this point and time.

"Balalaika is right, even if there is SOME chance this could work to our advantage should any of us get our hands on the daughter of the US president, there in one problem. We do NOT know where she possibly could be. And to top it all off, we have no idea as to where she could be."

Gonzalez's counterpart in the Mafia named Salvatore then spoke.

"Then we should make the move of looking through all of Roanapur for her. If she is here, then we should go and find her any way we can."

Chang looked at both leaders with a seriously annoyed look and spoke once more.

"Are you suggesting that we begin to tear apart Roanapur to look for her? That will mean having to do that not just to the areas under our control, but in others as well. That is insanity and you two know it."

"And what is so wrong with looking for a woman and her friends when it can give you advantages?"

Balalaika snidely replied to that.

"The thing wrong with that idea is the fact that we risk open war. You think that the other groups will agree to allow you to just barge into their areas and rip into their businesses? There might not be that many but we happen to live in a status quo here in Roanapur."

Gonzalez then replied.

"Then perhaps it's now time to change the players."

Balalaika glared at that and replied coldly.

"Keep in mind what happened to your predecessors when that same idea came into their heads."

The two leaders growled and their people seemed to react as they made some moves that made the Triads and Hotel Moscow to get ready for anything. The same could be said for Eda and Lagoon Company as they readied themselves for anything…

Anything, except for an unknown voice to make itself known to them mere moments before they could fully be prepared for a possible shootout between the groups and their leaders.

"I would listen to the lady if I were you."

The groups looked around the compound grounds to try and find out just where the voice came from and they were already reaching for their weapons. Revy was trying to find out where it came from and the same could be said for Eda, Dutch, and even Shenlua who readied her weapons just in case. They all looked around but for some reason, they could not find who was the speaker and that was more than enough to annoy Revy as she scanned the area to look for the new arrival, only to find nothing.

"Where the fucking hell did that come from?"

Rock moved back a bit on the chance to find cover just in case things got dicey, but that actually had allowed him to slam into something. The Japanese salary man was surprised since he knew there was no wall there behind him and then he felt behind him to feel…metal.

Then the voice came out once more.

"Not bad…you got lucky."

Rock turned around and so did everyone else as they suddenly were able to see a shimmering effect before them and soon before them all was a massive being wearing green and black armor with a helmet with a golden visor that revealed nothing to their eyes and carrying was would be described as a veritable arsenal on his person.

The whole congregation of Roanapur's criminal organizations aimed their weapons at the Spartan and it was here that Revy's impulsive temper came into play as she shouted.

"FUCK!"

Revy aimed her weapons at the Spartan and soon unleashed all her bullets at the man, but to the shock of everyone else, including her, the bullets bounced off some glowing field of energy and then, before their eyes, the man literally faded away at high speed.

Revy stopped and looked around wildly to locate her target and shouted.

"SHIT! Fucking hell, where did that thing go?"

"Right here."

Revy turned…only to see the barrel of the man's assault rifle right between her eyes, she then spoke evenly though she knew that at this range…it would be a miracle if she could dodge it as the others looked on in utter surprise.

"Who or what the fucking hell are you anyway? Some sort of robot or freak?"

"The name is Leonidas…leader of Spartan Company, now you know who you are fighting Rebecca,"

Revy was unable to move but she and the others were naturally thinking the very same thing.

(What the heck is that thing? And who the heck is Spartan Company.)

Revy managed to move her body and fire several rounds at the Spartan, despite the fact that the shields blocked them as her rounds lacked the energy and the mass to do any form of serious damage to the shield. This however managed to force John to move away as Dutch fired a round at the Spartan's weapon from his shotgun, John was able to see the attack and did not want his weapon ruined.

The very second that it happened, Balalaika and her group along with Chang and the others in the Triads readied their weapons and aimed them and the unknown…thing that had come out from the very thin air itself. They had NO idea what it was, but the fact that it had actually been in their meeting place and none of them had any idea meant that there was a heck of a lot more than they thought going on.

The sounds of gunfire soon began to fill the air as the groups were now focusing on the Spartan. Normally one man against this many people would have ended with the lone fighter being dead, with the marked exception of Roberta, Ginji, and Revy herself, but the people were not going to get a very good chance on fighting back as the glowing fields around the man continued to block their attacks and render them useless.

Benny's eyes widened at that as he spoke out of the others which naturally included Revy.

"Unless I took something before we came here…I swear that it looks like…that thing…has…energy shields."

Revy gave a growl and replied.

"Energy shields? You have got to be shitting us here Benny! That's nothing but sci-fi crap!"

Benny then replied.

"Well what do you call that? And there's no way that the armor is anything used in the regular military."

Dutch however shouted to them as he got his shotgun ready for fight.

"Now is not the time to be asking that sort of shit here! Shoot that thing now!"

Revy agreed and quickly fired her rounds while Dutch did the very same thing, and they were naturally joined by Hotel Moscow and the Triads who were still trying to figure out just what was going on here. Dutch however ran out of rounds and had to get to cover and this left the others to fire at the Spartan, however, it was here that Revy decided to take the fight into the face of the Spartan.

Revy earned her name of Two Hands for her near super human skills in wielding two guns and her ability to dodge bullets. This made her one of the best fighters in Roanapur and only few could match her in battle.

Unfortunately for her, the foe that she had just attacked WAS Superhuman and more than able to fight her to the limits of her own abilities.

The Chinese woman was forced to change course as the Master Chief quickly came at her with his Assault Rifle going out on full auto and the shots were dead on accurate as they nearly hit her in both her legs and her arms. She had no choice but to stop her attack and duck as the bullets flew out at her, and this time they were much harder to dodge as their had been times that they almost hit her and before she could fire the armored man moved like a blur right towards her before she could even react, the Spartan lashed out with a punch that she could not dodge even if she was on her best. The only concession that she was getting out of this was the fact that the Master Chief pulled back the power and speed behind the punch. If he had not, the blow would have easily crushed her bones and gave her critical injuries that would have sent her to the ICU or to the morgue.

Even so, the blow was enough to send Revy flying back a good forty feet off her feet, she hit the ground skidding over the hard unforgiving masonry of the building floor and soon hit a nearby wooden wall. She recovered her wits despite her body singing out in pain at the cuts and the impact of the Spartan's punch and quickly fired several more of her rounds, but that hardly mattered as the Master Chief quickly evaded and fired a burst of her own, one round hit mere inches from her head, the other was close to the ground to her side and the other actually hit one of her guns and forced it away before she could fire it.

She cried out in shock at this as this was the first time she had her guns shot, the weapon was not ruined in any fashion, but the fact that the blow had made her shot go wide was enough to anger the woman.

John placed aside his DMR and took out the MA37 as he was soon attacked by the forces of both the Triads and Hotel Moscow, he ducked and rolled out of the way when Shenlua came at him with her kukri knives, he moved to strike the woman in the stomach with the butt of his Assault Rifle. Shenlua moved out of the way while attacking once more with her knives but that move was actually a trick as the Spartan quickly moved in and grabbed the special rope that held her Knives together and yanked them hard to bring her over him as he sent her flying back into a wall with a thud.

He quickly moved as bullets hit his shields, but they lacked the overall punch power to damage his shields at all. That was all the better in his mind as he moved for cover still as he was soon fighting the recovered Revy and Chang as the two users of Dual wielding came at him. He already read the files on Chang and Revy and knew that they actually used the same style of fighting, Chang had taught Revy the style and he was actually the better user, fitting since he taught Revy the style.

Unfortunately for them he was no stranger to this form of fighting and proved it when he shot at two Triad members armed with MP5s and as soon as they were wounded, he placed his MA37 on his back and grabbed both weapons, quickly switched their firing mode to single shot and fire the weapons at both Chang and Revy. And soon the battle became a bit more interesting as John faced off against Revy and Chang.

Both of them were surprising as he began to counter their moves easily and they had to work in unison, but even though Chang and Revy were going all out, their reaction times were not enough to match the Spartan as he saw their moves in 'Spartan Time' and easily countered them in battle. This was quickly noted by both Chang and Revy as they moved to cover and reloaded their weapons. Revy swore as she reloaded her pistols as she had never fought anything like this guy or whatever it was before.

"Fuck! This thing moves too fast!"

"Yeah, he's even got better moves too."

The others fired their weapons but as they were reloading, John quickly came out from cover and fired several rounds at them and disabled their abilities in combat as he aimed at their weapons, ruining them with ease as he was soon attacked by Chang and Revy. This also forced them to seek cover as well as some of them to leave the fight to get spare weapons to help them in the battle ahead while Chang and Revy attacked with their combined skills to take down the massive armored being that appeared out of nowhere.

But they were in for a fight as the Spartan was quickly able to move in and fire away, each shot he fired was much harder for either of them to dodge and soon Chang was hit as the Spartan fired two rounds at him that were at an angle that allowed them to hit Chang before he could recover, the first bullet tore at the side of his body and the other round struck the underside of Chang's left arm.

This caught Chang off guard as the pain struck him and Revy fought back to try and injure the Spartan that came at them. Her shots managed to hit the Spartan due to him being closer to them but they were not enough as the Spartan's shields defended him. She tried to move but the pain from the Spartan's punch from before but that was enough to slow down her reaction time and John retaliated by shooting her and hitting her once more with two shots, one grazing her right thigh and spilling blood and the other round cutting her at the cheek. Those attacks were non-lethal hits but they were more than enough to send the message that if John was being serious, he could have killed Revy if he wanted to.

This was not lost to Revy and that made her all the more angry as she quickly fired even more rounds, ignoring the wounds as adrenaline flowed into her body.

Despite this however, the others could see that the effects were obvious on Revy as she grimaced in pain. Benny commented as he was able to see the fight behind cover.

"That's the first time I've seen a complete stranger fight equally with Revy…for once I get the feeling that Revy's met her match."

Dutch nodded as he reloaded his Magnum while Rock was with them hiding as well.

"I know, those hits, if that guy was serious in killing Revy, he'd have done it already and that would have been the end of it."

As soon as he was done loading, Dutch got up and fired while the others from the Triads and Hotel Moscow were going to get spare weapons as their had been ruined by the Spartan's counter shots while they had been reloading earlier. But the members of Hotel Moscow came prepared this time around and they soon brought in the heavy artillery as it were.

BOOM!

The roar of the Dragunov Sniper Rifle filled the room as it was discovered that Balalaika had managed to have one of her followers to get their hands on one of the more powerful weapons that they had in their arsenal, they never used these weapons in such a situation like this but they were naturally running out of viable options. The bullet flew right at the Spartan as it hit the shield and was blocked despite the power of the shot. John turned and quickly moved out of the firing path, relying on his speed, armor, and skill to close the gap between him and the sniper in question while tossing the now empty weapons he had on hand into the faces of two of Balalaika's men, knocking them out cold in one go while reaching for his MA37.

Balalaika managed to use the rifle once more, only to see to her disbelief the Spartan duck mere moments as she pulled the trigger and the bullet sailed over his head. Before she could fire her next round, the Spartan fired several bursts, forcing her to seek cover. As soon as that stopped she got up to fire from cover once more…only to find the Spartan before her. She tried to block with her rifle any close combat attack he might throw at her. She got the blow as the Spartan used the butt of his MA37 to shatter the Dragunov in the middle.

CRUSH!

The sound of shattered metal, composites, wood finish, and more was heard as the Russian made Sniper Rifle was broken into two pieces and the Spartan quickly grabbed balalaika with the speed of a cobra and tossed her to the other side in a heap, much to the shock of Boris and the others of Hotel Moscow. They had never seen anyone do THAT to their leader before…and that was more than enough to convince them to avenge the insult done to their Captain as they began firing at the Spartan en masse. Boris was next as he fired all out with his own weapon, only to have the Spartan quickly moved to him and hit him with enough force to both knock the wind out of him and send him into several of his fellow Russians who had to avoid firing as they could hit Boris.

John noted that as the Cartels and the Mafia came at him as well, firing all the while, though he noted quickly that the two groups also fired on the others on occasion, befitting the profiles he got on them and their leaders. He decided not to waste time with them and went to lethal mode as he aimed and shot three of them dead with bursts in the chest before moving to reload his weapon. He quickly moved into cover and reloaded his weapon and was attacked by a force of at least ten of the Albanian Mafia fellows who were armed with wicked trench knives. Apparently the group chose to try and take him out in close combat as they thought that they could succeed where Shenlua failed.

Bad choice…

The Spartan grabbed the first pair and efficiently broke their necks with several hard strikes to the back of the neck. He then took the next pair by punching with unrestrained force, his attacks easily tore through their bodies as his fists were now through their bodies as he tossed them aside. The next one had his arm broken in four different places by the Spartan before having his knife taken away from him and his neck being broken by the Spartan with a powerful punch that twisted his head in a VERY grotesque angle. The last three got an introduction to the Chief's Knife combat skills as he cut and stabbed them in multiple angles and areas in mere moments. He quickly turned and soon tossed the knife at Boris…and the knife managed to get the Russian by the sleeve of his uniform and pinning the arm into the wall at least several inches deep, stopping the Russian from using the Ak-47 that was handed to him as the others began to fire at the Spartan.

John could see that this battle was not going to be an easy one as the Italians got into the act and forced his hand as he fired several rounds at them, killing them with brutal efficiency while he was being surrounded by his shield's glow as it took the hits from all sides. Cortana then took the moment to comment on their current situation.

"There's so much lead flying around here, I now have an idea what it feels like to be in a particle accelerator."

"No kidding."

John had been into many fire fights, more than most soldiers would like, but this was by far one of the few that was going to be hard to forget. The good news for him was that despite the numerous bullets flying all over the place, they were not enough, with the exceptions of the AK-47 rounds and Dutch's Magnum as these had the mass to be danger to him if they were lucky enough to bypass his armor. He however knew that he was still in the fight, having loaded up on as much ammunition as he was comfortable in carrying even if he was burning through it like mad.

To the others in the fire fight, they felt like this fight had been going on forever, it was already past the thirty minute mark since the whole mess started and even if they were firing out enough rounds and sending out spent shell casings by the fucking bale. By all rights, any person would have been shredded by this much firepower going off in their direction but it seemed not to end in the slightest.

Revy got down as several more bullets from that armored monster who was hiding in cover came very uncomfortably close to her and she even saw one flying only millimeters from the side of her face and barely clipping the top area of her right ear.

She swore out a storm as she reloaded another clip into both her guns.

"FUCK! IT'S LIKE NOTHING IS GOING TO STOP THAT GUY!"

Dutch replied to that as he reloaded his Magnum and he was already reloading for what appeared to be the fourth time this night.

"I know Revy! I've reloaded four times this day and I still can't seem to harm him!"

Rock then replied while keeping out from being hit as the smell of gunpowder was thick in the air.

"It's those…shields of his…but even if we do manage to overpower them…there is no telling how well any of the rounds will fare on his armor!"

Benny nodded as well as he was definitely trying his best not to be perforated.

"Rock's got a point, I sure as hell have no idea what that armor is made of. But the fact that the armor is made the way it is, I think we'd need a howitzer to do anything to him!"

Dutch then replied.

"Maybe, but Howitzers don't grow on trees Benny-boy, along with the shells they happen to use. And even if we HAD those, making that guy stand still would be impossible, he moves too fucking fast for a guy wearing something that must be a ton and a half at least."

Eda then replied as she too was feeling the burn as her nun's habit had a few tears in it.

"Dutch has got a point, but if we can't stop this guy with regular rounds, we might as well have to resort to burying him. I'd like to see him escape this building when it's buried over him."

Rock then replied with a look of shock there.

"You want to blow up the building? Isn't that hazardous with us still being in it?"

Eda replied.

"I meant blow it up once we're outside…but I am going to need some help. Namely Revy's to help me get the supplies in my car and keep tall, green, and nasty from perforating my back.."

Revy was about to argue when Dutch replied.

"Now is not the time for the two of you to be bitching…get those explosives!"

…

Unknown to them, John heard that and so did Cortana through the audio sensors in the MJOLNIR as she spoke.

"Okay…looks like this situation just got interesting, any plans John? I know that flipping sixty six ton tanks that are upside down is right up your alley, but doing that with a large amount of rubble is not going to be easy even for you. And the fact is that we still have a job to do here."

"I'll think of something."

The A.I groaned and replied.

"Usually that means blasting things and making a serious mess…but what the heck, I love your brand of crazy ideas anyway."

"I thought you would, I need to get that module out first."

"Oh I see."

John quickly took off the Active Stealth Camouflage Module from his armor and placed on a new one. This was going to come in handy as Cortana had been tweaking with it for a while now. Once he got that, he checked his supplies and thankfully found a set of Smoke Grenades and quickly pulled the pins on them and sent them flying all over the place. The Smoke Grenades would last only for at least several seconds to a full minute, more than enough time for him to make a move as he powered up the Module.

As soon as the place filled with smoke that John took the time to count the minute that came up the second he pulled the pins. He quickly ran through the diagram of the building once more to locate exactly where would the place be that would give him a quicker shot to the surface. As soon as he located one, he saw the smoke begin to go back down, showing that the smoke grenades were running out of juice, and this was when he had his surprise come into play just as Revy and Eda came back.

…

As soon as Revy and Eda came back, the others began to recover from the smoke grenades that the Spartan had tossed and the clouds were becoming less thick for them. That was when they spotted the Spartan move deeper into the building. The others moved in and followed him…unaware of another figure hidden in the smoke heading away while avoiding them all despite the still thick smoke cover in the room.

Revy and the others followed the figure of the Spartan, and soon found that it led into a room of the building complex that was filled with a lot of left over machinery and junk. It by any case was the perfect place for an ambush if they moved in to try and finish the armored man off once and for all. Revy was about to go in but Dutch stopped her as Eda placed the first set of explosives. Balalaika and the others quickly caught on and they lay out a great deal of fire into the place while Eda was helped by Balalaika and Boris.

Soon they were able to place a good deal of explosives in the area to collapse the building in this section as they moved back. The three were soon able to sent enough explosives to level a city block twice over. It was overkill by any regular standard, but this was Roanapur and there was no such thing as over kill, and after facing that armored giant of a man who had given them a hellish amount of punishment already, they were going to make sure that he was not going to get another chance at coming after them.

Once the explosives were clear, the others were told to leave…unaware that their actions were being watched and the Spartan that they thought they had finally concerned…was not who they thought it was, but something else completely as the figure hiding faded away into nothing. It was then that they were all clear that Eda activated the switch.

BOOM!

The explosions tore through the building area as well as the surrounding courtyard as the former supply warehouse complex was sent down into the ground and was soon turned into a ruined husk. The fires that came from the explosions lit up the night sky and it was a welcome sight for those who had made it out, even the Mafia and the Cartels were lucky to still be alive after the hell that they had been through fighting that mysterious armored giant who had somehow gotten into the meeting area without them noticing anything.

Already the recovering survivors watched as the building fell apart and was soon collapsing on itself, something that was only possible due to Eda's skills with explosives as par her training in the CIA as well as the explosive expertise of Balalaika due to her long time experience in war.

…

It seemed that it was all over as the groups began to relax, but that was not going to be the case as the sounds of moving debris was heard over the flames.

The assembled group of the Triads, Hotel Moscow, the Cartels, the Mafia, and Black Lagoon looked back at the smoking ruin as several bits of masonry were sent flying back with shocking force, one massive one flew over their heads and crushed one of the cars. The rest were sent flying off in other directions with just the same lethal force. It was not long before a certain someone spoke out to them all.

"Just where do you think you are going?"

The voice revealed the Spartan who walked through the flames and smoke, his shields glowing as they blocked the energy coming from the fire. The Spartan was unharmed and when a falling pillar came at him, he swatted it aside with his free hand and sent it crashing away from him as he was now before them with his MA37 ICWS Assault Rifle in hand and his DMR on his back. The Cartels and the Mafia were quick to look away and escape and it seemed that the massive armored figure allowed them to do so as none of them were shot in the back just yet.

This only left the Triads, Hotel Moscow, Eda, and Lagoon Company alone to face the Spartan as John moved forward to them with the ruins and flames on the background..

The Spartan looked at them and before they could reach for their spare weapons, he moved like a blur and was before them and his Assault Rifle at the ready and more than willing to go another round as he had been able to fully arm up before popping out of the debris that had been there before. But that was when Rock moved and stood before the Spartan and right in the path of the MA37 no doubt in an effort to prevent the Spartan from shooting at the others.

Revy's eyes widened at the sight of the young man before this…thing. She had been worried about Rock many times despite those feelings going against her nature. But this was the most serious thing in her mind. That thing before her had managed to best her and Chang along with Shenlua, Balalaika, Boris and the others in the group with them. But now Rock was before it and she feared that he would be killed.

"ROCK! YOU IDIOT! GET AWAY FROM IT!"

The same could be said as the others stopped from firing, Balalaika had her weapon aimed already but was not going to fire with Rock in the way. The same could be said for Chang and also the same was there for Eda. Shenlua also did not make a move along with the others in the Triads and Hotel Moscow as they knew that while Rock was a member of Lagoon Company, he was not able to fight back. That and the fact that they had some degree of respect for the man was the reason they did not start shooting at the man.

But they had no idea just what the man in armor was going to do himself with Rock in the way of his own weapon.

John looked at Rock who was standing between him and his own group along with the Triads and Hotel Moscow. He had to give this man credit for being there in front of him, after seeing him manhandle Revy, Dutch, Shenlua, Boris, Chang, and Balalaika, he knew who he was after all, looking at his file and knew that the man was not a criminal by any standard. And the file that he read showed that Rock was a good man and had good talents.

The tension lasted for a moment longer until John then moved his weapon away and spoke to Rock.

"You've got bravery Rock, or should I call you by your real name of Rokuro Okajima?"

Rock was surprised not at the fact that this being found out his real name, but because it had been a long time that he had ever heard anyone use his real name. He had been so used to being called Rock that the sound of his real name seemed like a dream to him.

He shook his head and replied.

"Rock will do Leonidas."

"Fair enough, now then, care to explain to me why you are in front of me?"

"I want to stop you from harming the others here."

"You do realize that your companion Rebecca, or rather Revy shot at me first? I only decided to return the favor as if was a natural reflex to shoot back. And of course, your companions decided to join in the act."

"I understand that, but I wanted to stop this before things got out of hand. I have a feeling that you were there for a reason and it wasn't to kill anyone."

John decided to test Rock for a moment or two.

"That's a fairly strong assumption Rock, what makes you think that I was not sent there to assassinate the leaders of the Triads and Hotel Moscow?"

"Because if you were, you would have already done so and got away, and if you REALLY wanted to kill both Chang-san and Balalaika-san you would not have bothered staying after doing it and just left."

The silence after that was thick and it was not long before John have a shrug and replied to break the tension as it were.

"Good assumption, I didn't come here to kill them, merely observe and when I was done, I would leave them to their business."

"So why were you there and observing them?"

"Because their actions could be a hindrance to my mission here since they had began to crack down on Roanapur, I decided to get more information on their plans and actions for the future which is why I tailed them and came here to observe the meeting, nothing more and nothing less."

Rock was about to ask what was the mission but decided against it as he sensed that this man was not going to say what that mission he was on was to him. However, he had a feeling in his gut that he was not the enemy here since if he was, he had more than ample opportunity to kill all of them with the technology and firepower that he had at his command.

"So what happens now?"

"Now? Now I take my leave."

With that, the Spartan activated the still working Active Stealth Camouflage Module on his MJOLNIR and soon was gone from sight, but not before speaking to the assembled people.

"This is not going to be the last time you will see me, count on it. But how that meeting will turn out is up to whether you can keep your trigger fingers cool. But I will say this…the mission that brought me here is tied to your survival as well, so if you all want to remain alive…either help me or stay out of my way."

Revy however rushed up and fired her pistols once more, hoping to fight with the Spartan once again and shouting out.

"Come back here you fucking armor clad nutcase! I am NOT going to let you just pack up and leave you hear me! I am not finished with you just fucking yet! Come back here and fucking fight me! I want a rematch!"

John said nothing as he was already leaving and Revy was furious but before she could do anything, Dutch walked up to her and stopped her from firing any more rounds in random.

"Stop it Revy, he probably isn't here anymore."

Revy growled as the pain from her injuries at the hand of the Spartan began to come back as the adrenaline in her system began to burn out and allow her to feel the pain from before. That did not stop her from reacting in the normal fashion as she replied.

"I don't care…that guy's a fucking coward if he's gone running from me like that! I wonder how he'd fucking fare in a real fight without that fancy armor of his!"

Rock then replied.

"I don't recommend it."

Balalaika and the others who were nearby were curious and Eda asked the question on everyone's mind.

"What do you mean by that Rock?"

Rock turned and spoke.

"I can't read that guy…it's not just because of the armor he has on. He's like a machine, a well oiled machine in the form of a man who has a mission. But we don't know what that mission is either. In that regard…I think he's worse than Roberta-san herself."

Shenlua then replied.

"That big assumption indeed…why say that he worse than evil maid?"

Rock replied as he gazed at the ruined building complex.

"We knew why Roberta was here before….and why she came back here after her master was killed. In that way, we were able to beat Roberta…though barely. We know next to nothing about Leonidas, what are his motivations, where his technology came from, why is he here, and most of all…why did he not kill anyone? He was holding back the whole time when we fought him, he sought to wound and incapacitate, not kill us, unlike Roberta-san who would not hesitate to kill when Diego died. If he was being serious…we'd all be dead."

Chang then replied.

"Hate to say it, but Rock here's got a point…old Sun Tzu said it best I think. "Know yourself and know your enemy, then you fear not the result of a hundred battles. Known yourself but not know your enemy, then for each victory you gain, you suffer a loss. Know not yourself nor know your enemy, then you suffer defeat at every turn.' This guy is completely unknown to me in every sense of the word, he moved like lighting and he can shoot like a devil and packs a seriously mean punch in a close combat fight."

Balalaika was silent and soon took out a cigarette and spoke despite the fact that she felt some level of pain from what happened to her when she fought with the Spartan. There was no doubt in her mind that this Leonidas was not intent on killing them, even though she had only recovered, she had seen the fates of the Cartel and Mafia members that dared to attack him in close combat.

"At any rate…we must be wary, if we do meet him again, then it would be best that we be prepared even more, if he could do this much without intending to kill us, then I have no doubt that if he wanted to kill us, then he would have been a lot more serious about it."

Revy snorted and walked away, silently vowing that the very second that John made his appearance before her once more, she was going to fight him in a rematch. She didn't give a shit just how good he was…even if Rock said that the man was holding back his real abilities as he had not seen them, including her as the enemy. Well then she had every intention to make him change his mind and then the real battles was going to be begin between her and him.

Rock saw that and mentally sighed, maybe if he could find this…Leonidas, then he could at least try and learn all that he could from this being and hopefully avoid getting his group into the firing line. He cared in his own way for the others in the company…and even if Revy did treat him like crap and more, now that he thought about what Dutch said to him, he could see that Revy did care for him and risked her life to save his.

And he was going to have to make sure that he could save her from getting herself killed by facing this Leonidas in a needless firefight.

…

It was at this point that John moved away from the battle and was about to head back into the city location where he had moved the others when he noted something bad. The Active Stealth Camouflage Module that he had used had been damaged. He quickly did a full diagnostic with Cortana's help and it was not good news to say the very least. The Module had been hit in a critical point in the casing by stray shrapnel and while it could still work, the time for it's cloaking ability to last had been cut in half, not something that he wanted to hear.

And sure enough, his Active Camouflage system had given out and needed time to recharge and now while in the city, he was out in the open and exposed. It was not that he had a problem but keeping out of sight was his priority. With that he had to move quickly before being spotted by anyone so he avoided the city's traffic heavy areas as well as the frequented places by the Roanapur Police and also by the other gangs.

However, as he moved through the place he was quick to spot two very familiar faces in the area… both were women one was a redhead and the other was a blonde and very attractive, and no doubt were being trailed by what appeared to be a gang, despite the fact that there were two men with them.

He knew who they were as well as the men, and he doubted that the men trailing them had any idea who they were chasing…so it seemed that he was not going to go home just yet. With that in mind, he followed the gang tracking the four while keeping out of sight even without the Active Stealth Camouflage Module being at full power.

The gang of thugs had no idea that they were now in between the hammer and the anvil…with the Joes Cover Girl, Scarlett, Wet Suit, and Road-Block being the anvil and John with Cortana being the hammer.

…

In another section of Roanapur…

The results of their actions came back to the field agents of Cobra as they were currently in the mountains and intercepting transmissions from the city. The discovery of the Spartan there was not something they had expected at some point, but that was not their concern. They had already begun to get the data they needed and now was the right time to use the next and last phase of their plans…it was time for them to let their dogs loose into the Roanapur…just in time for the US and the Joes to get involved.

Soon…Roanapur will burn, and Cobra will be there…to pick out the best and do some very serious work of their own. This place would become a new ground for them to harvest from..

But that could wait, they had placed everything there, their…test subjects had received the last of the shipments and now they were ready to do the things Cobra hoped for them to do in their own unique way.

As for them…their own resurrection would come and soon the Joes and even the Spartan Company will learn along with the world that Cobra was not dead, it merely shed it's old skin and it's fangs.

Soon they will return with anew look, and more potent than they had ever been in their long time of fighting.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Now that wraps up this chapter for now, and you can bet that things are about to get even more heated in the coming chapters before we move to another situation all together for John and Cortana. I plan to have at least two or even three chapters for this and it will soon include the Joes who are already on site in Roanapur. The last person to be rescued happens to be located in a very serious location and soon Cobra and the Crimson Bond are going to make things a heck of a lot more interesting, now that the snakes are taking a more proactive role in the soon to come battles.

Before I get questions on what is going to happen, let's just say that I am going to be very busy and as such, I prefer to keep my plans in the back burner until I feel that it is a good time to reveal just what I have been cooking up in the background. In the mean time, I will be taking a bit of a break from G.I Joe Halo for a while and see which story I can have the time and resources to update when I can, so let me worry about those details for the time being as this is my story after all.

As for the situation between John and Revy, don't expect this meeting to be the last as John himself has stated that he is far from done with the people of Roanapur and he has already issued his ultimatum towards them all. Whether they listen or not is going to be up to me in the coming chapters, but those will still have to be planned out.

Feel free to offer suggestions and ideas, but I will point out that if the ideas are too outlandish, I will not use them.

…

If there are fans of Black Lagoon, (And I KNOW there are a good number here somewhere.) who are offended by how the battle between the groups that make up the residents of Roanapur and the Master Chief, then I apologize for that. However, keep in mind that despite all of their abilities and skills, Revy and the others are still human despite their near superhuman feats and abilities.

The Master Chief on the other hand was already born a mentally and physically superior being when he was a child, he received serious training in the arts of war, was augmented, and as such possesses super human traits. I won't get into the details as anyone can find out about them on their own so I won't bother listing them down.

But for those who have not…all the abilities that were on record and canonically confirmed if I might add, were made when John and the other Spartans were children. And it is confirmed that they have only gotten stronger with experience, time, and growth. So since he is already around his late twenties…by my own estimation, and a thirty year veteran…you can bet that he is NOT a regular foe that the residents can easily combat with their more traditional methods.

And Rock himself confirmed it as he could only sense that John was not lying, but unlike the Captain who the gang faced in the past…the Master Chief is not a simple mystery to solve.

So in hindsight, John is more than able to hold his own as he is capable of such feats even without the MJOLNIR as well as having a precision born from his life time and experiences as a Commando. And that makes him a very deadly foe, even more so than Roberta as Roberta is prone to being attacked by psychotic episodes that can make her into a berserker as we all have seen in the anime and the manga. So in this case, John is precise like a laser sharpened scalpel when it comes to killing his foes when needed, unlike Roberta who is always at a knife's edge due to her psychological problems and issues..

And if anyone tries to call me being wrong, then feel free to read the files and make your own judgments. And if anyone mentions that Roberta broke both Shenlua's kukri knives with her teeth, or had destroyed the chain for Sawyer's chainsaw, then I already know that and I will be able to deal with that in a better time.

…

As in every New Year's end, the special town festival is here so I cannot update as much as I would like so you will have to wait a while before I crank out the next chapter as promised. I need a break too and this year promises to be an interesting respite.

This might also mean some updates for my other works, especially the recent one.

…

See you soon!


	15. Chapter 15

G.I Joe Halo

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to G.I Joe or Halo, so I don't make money of out of this…shame really.

Chapter 14

Endgame…

( ): Thoughts

…

Roanapur…

The bikers continued to trail their prey for the day, or rather night as they were eager to have some fun for the night. There was plenty of activity in the city for some time now and none of them were that good. Besides seeing some new attractive faces around here was going to be worth every second of this. They had no problem if they had to rough up the guys with the women as they were itching for a fight and they had numbers, they outnumbered the men as they were at least a dozen strong.

However, they had no idea that the ones they were chasing were of a totally different league, and that they themselves were being followed by another person. One who was more than a threat to anyone in a straight up fight and was armed and armored to the point he would have been more a weapon than a man. John-117 kept a close eye on the bikers while still keeping to the shadows despite the damage to the Active Stealth Camouflage module that he had on which limited it's functions. The Joes normally would be able to handle themselves, but with time in critically short supply, he had to get their help soon. He also could tell that the Joes were aware that they were being followed and were getting ready to retaliate as he could see them getting ready, though it seemed that the bikers were not aware of it.

As he followed them to an alley it was not long before Cover Girl turned around as well as the others and spoke to the bikers who were following them.

"What the heck do you want?"

The lead biker, wearing the usual clothing while carrying a heavy chain with a hook on the end grinned lecherously at the blonde Joe and replied.

"It's very simple, we want to have a chat with you and your other lady friends…and other things as well."

Cover Girl and Scarlett were less than pleased as they already knew what was going to happen, and the same could be said for their companions. Roadblock himself made that statement rather obvious when he replied.

"You fools have no idea what you're going into. Better walk away now while you can still walk."

The Bikers laughed at that and one of them took out a bar of iron and spoke back.

"Says you big guy…we got you outnumbered and we've got weapons to boot, what do you say to that mother-…"

The man never got to finish the statement when Roadblock got out a hard rubber ball and without batting an eyelash, fired it right at him like a baseball pitcher…right in the forehead. The ball might not have been a weapon per say, but it was more than able to give any regular person a serious hit…especially if thrown hard enough. The man swore as he dropped his weapon and that was the opening that the Joes needed as they quickly rushed their attackers.

…

John and Cortana watched as the two of them decided not to interfere unless the situation was suddenly altered to being dangerous. The two knew that while these bikers were dangerous they were not in the league of the Joes or the Dreadnoks and as such, the Joes could handle it just fine. And sure enough the assessment was proven to be right on the money as John and his A.I companion saw the Joes quickly take down the bikers in a mix of close combat skills and timing as well as patience.

Cover Girl grabbed one of them in a Judo throw and sent him smashing into several trash cans nearby while Scarlett dodged an attack from one of the other bikers, and he was hit by the red haired fighter with one powerful kick to the side of his head. Wet Suit quickly blocked a knife attack and quickly smashed a hard fist into the man's jaw and sent him down. Road block was attacked by two of the thugs as well but he quickly caught them by the scruff of their clothes and quickly knocked them out by banging their heads together, though not hard enough to kill them. Duke himself side stepped a strike from his attacker who was armed with a thick pipe, he quickly smashed his knee into the man's stomach and struck him at the back of the head.

That was more than enough to take out some of the thugs that were there while the others soon attacked en masse, hoping that they were going to have a better chance with numbers. Not that it did them that much good as they were dealt with in the fight. John and Cortana were able to see that they were all right, but then he spotted the leader reach for a shotgun that resembled a type that was used in most of those Western movies. It was only armed with two shots, but that was no excuse to be lax as the Spartan moved in quickly while his Active Stealth Camouflage Module was still able to function properly.

The man was about to fire his shotgun, but did not have time to react and a massive armored arm appeared from thin air and crushed the barrel with ease. The sound of crunching metal was soon followed with the man flying away and smashing hard into a nearby dumpster with a load smash as the Spartan had just given him a serious left hook. It was not filled with killer force and was not going to kill the man, but it was certainly going to leave a mark.

John turned to see the other bikers now down and out for the count while the Joes were already looking to be a lot more collected. They turned and it was here that Scarlett moved towards him, he kept an eye on the redhead and waited to see what was it that she was going to say. He was naturally wary of her though not in a negative way as she finally spoke to him.

"Nice to see you again…Leonidas."

"Nice to see you as well Scarlett, I take it you and your comrades are here to find one Michelle Graham and her friends?"

Scarlett nodded and spoke.

"We are, and we also found out that there were several incidents in which some locations in Roanapur were burned to the ground. And there were a number of armed people that got taken out, care to explain that?"

John decided to reply to that in his very own fashion.

"If I told you that they were members of the group that kidnapped Michelle and her friends what would you do with that information?"

"Relay it back to Duke and hope that we can at least put an end to the possible arrival of the battle group here. This place might be a cesspit and should be dealt with considering all the trouble that comes from this place and the groups that call it home, but we're here to prevent a war from happening. So what are you doing here Leonidas?"

John was expecting that and he had his reply already present.

"I agree, actually I have another thing that I have to mention…Michelle and several of her friends are already in my custody. I had planned to have them escorted out of here but that had some problems, the first was that there was a chance that the enemy would have found out eventually while I planned to rescue the last of her friends. That would have been hard to do but no sense taking unneeded risks, namely with the President's daughter no less. But with you here this should make it official that Michelle Graham and her friends are in safe hands for all to know."

Duke nodded at that as he could understand the logic behind that decision.

"Fair enough, if you take us there, we can make the much needed arrangements and also deal with the rescue if there are still any of her friends still not accounted for."

John agreed and Cortana was quick to send a message to the B. back at the base where Michelle and the others were hiding at this time. So far the reports that came back were good, as despite the increase in activity the First daughter and her friends had not yet been found.

…

In the hidden base…

Michelle was currently working on providing some food and drink to her recovering friend Veronica while Hannah was still taking some time to get some sleep from the ordeal. Veronica was still tired and in pain but at least she was still able to get food into her. Michelle was hoping that her last friend Dana would soon be rescued and that they were going to be able to leave this place before all things went to hell.

Veronica took in the hot soup that she had been given and spoke to her friend.

"I usually go for beef soup, but this is not so bad."

"You okay Roni?"

"Yeah…thank God that they didn't do…anything to me, I would have never been able to stomach it…"

"Don't worry, it's going to be all right, once Dana is with us, we are going to leave this place behind and be home safe and sound."

"I sure as hell hope so Michelle, this is one heck of a graduation for all of us."

Michelle gave a slight smile but she then stopped as she heard the door open and since there was no gunfire, which meant that their rescuer was back already. That was something that concerned the president's daughter somewhat as she took the gun she had been handed and headed there to see what was going on. Once she got there, she was relieved to see the Spartan enter, and that relief became even more evident when she spotted the Joes walk in.

Michelle had known of the Joes for some time, after all, who did not know about America's most recognized special mission force? She was quick to recognize them as they were indeed part of the military and it made her feel even happier to know that they were now possibly going to be evacuated from this place. However she tempered that with the knowledge that her friend Dana had yet to be rescued.

She moved to meet them and Duke spotted her as he spoke to the woman who they had come to Roanapur to help rescue and evacuate. They had been able to get files on Michelle before hand so they had an idea just who she was and what she looked like and thus he was pleased to see that she happened to be safe.

"Miss Graham?"

"Yes, my name is Michelle Graham, code 0029-45099-7A Baker Alpha 1."

Duke nodded as she had recited the special code that had been given to her when her father had taken office at least a few years ago. This and a few other code words were only issued to the First Family and it was always changed when a new President was elected and his or her family was inducted into the White House. This code word was the very same one that had been given to Michelle when her father was in the office for a few months and was given to her in a private sound proof room and only the Secret Service agents assigned to her protection knew of it since they were allowed to hear her say it from another room that was just as isolated as the room she was in herself.

When they were killed, he and the Joes had to do everything they could to be allowed to access the code word phrase she had. This was only possible due to Scarlett's service with the CIA and the fact that General Hawk had helped them on the side. Though they already had her images, they wanted to be sure that she was who they had come to rescue and evacuate when the opportunity presented itself.

As for John and Cortana, the two of them did not need to do that as Cortana had already confirmed her identity due to her accessing Michelle's files as well as comparing records of Michelle's voice from files and records and then comparing Michelle's voice with the records as well as searching for any possible discrepancies and finding none at all. That also included running full biometric scans of her face and comparing that to the records they had of her to begin with for extra material to compare with.

Duke then spoke to Michelle

"We're sorry for arriving rather late Miss Graham, we had hoped that we could have been given the green light to initiate a rescue of our own, but we were told not to. It was only when the situation became more serious were we able to covertly make the rescue attempt."

"I can understand that, but Leonidas and his force had come here to rescue me, and as surprising as it seems, I trust him and his unit."

Duke and the others looked at John who merely shrugged and replied to them.

"I was originally planning to evacuate only Miss Graham, but she was able to convince me to help rescue her friends, I managed to rescue two of them and only one of her friends is left to rescue. But that will prove a major problem with the Crimson Bond possibly ready to take for more lethal action."

Road-Block then replied to that.

"Then we should work together man, it might be a bit odd for all, but you are going to need all the help you can get."

The Spartan nodded and replied to that.

"I got no problem with that, but we should get Miss Michelle and her friends need to be taken to much safer place so when we rescue her last friend, they can be quickly evacuated and the possible shooting match is avoided."

Duke nodded as before he and his fellow Joes had left their safe house, they had gotten word that the Battle Group had been given the green light but they too had a time frame to work with. The sooner that they were able to get her out, then that was better for all involved as this would be able to end the need for the US Military to get into Roanapur.

…

Later…

John was quick to escort Michelle, Veronica, and Hannah to the place that was being used by the Joes while being accompanied by Shipwreck and Cover Girl while the other Joes were getting ready to handle the rescue as soon as they sent word to the Battle Group as well as to Washington that they were going to extract. The presence of the Joes was something that he was thankful for as this would allow him to focus on the last mission. However, it was not going to be the least bit easy as there was a chance that the Crimson Bond forces would take extreme measures to avenge their losses to him as well as keep their last hostage alive.

There was no doubt that it was going to happen sooner or later so he would have to move quick to rescue the last of Michelle Graham's friends before things got really bad. Thankfully they were able to get the President's daughter and her friends to the location after a few minutes without incident while being supported by the B.A.T units who were still in their ODST disguises. Shipwreck had been curious as to who these guys were but none of them answered his questions and while that was a good thing to some extent, John had a feeling that they were going to have to give their B. some manner of voices to make them more human like to avoid suspicion.

Cortana thought in the same way and was more than keen to work on the idea. But that was going to be for another time. She herself had a feeling that the Crimson Bond would make dangerous choices, they would either go all out and hunt him down and recover Michelle and her friends, or torture the last of her friends to lure them out. Either way time was running out and they had to use whatever time they had left for this goal.

…

However, unknown to EVERYONE in Roanapur…something was about to change the whole situation that was right in front of their noses.

…

In the last Crimson Bond base of operations in Roanapur…

The Crimson Bond soldiers were furious and so were their officers, the rumors of the attacks on their bases had been a thorn on them. The loss of such…valuable merchandise was something that none of them wanted. Their desire to have revenge on the President by twisting and breaking his beloved daughter once they had done what Cobra had asked of them was now replaced with a fury that was growing hotter by the second. They were able to learn of the attacks via the media and from reports coming in from their allies…one of whom was currently in their base of operations to speak to their current operations leader.

The leader in question was a battle scarred man who had no hair on his head and had an impressive number of scars on his face and he was cold and merciless as he faced none other than Dr. Mind Bender himself and despite the man's reputation the leader of the Crimson Bond was not intimidated.

"This is becoming a serious problem Doctor!"

"Do not be so high strung Commander…"

"High strung? That armored bastard has done more damage to my organization than all the Delta Force and Navy SEAL teams that have been after my people for years! I will not tolerate his interference any longer! When are we going to gain the merchandise that your organization has promised in exchange for those…blood samples?"

"They are already on their way to your armory as we speak."

The man showed no change in his expression but he was very much pleased…soon, they were going to wipe out the rest of the gangs in Roanapur and take over this hive of scum and villainy. He intended to turn this place into the new base of operations for his recovering organization and then rebuild to strike back at the ones who had wiped out the others who had been his allies and fellow leaders of the Crimson Bond. He and a few others were the last of their group, after the actions of the current President Graham and with a vast portion of their forces destroyed or under heavy arrest, and their assets gone, they were deep in hiding.

Cobra however came to them with an offer, they offered to rebuild their forces by providing them arms, funds, and equipment and all they wanted in return were samples of blood taken from a member of the Graham family for their own projects. He and the others agreed and they got their wish as they now had the money, arms, and equipment to help their forces grow. But now this Spartan was becoming a major thorn on their side and the loss of their forces in Roanapur as well as their merchandise was something that he could not accept.

"Good, these will be more then enough for our needs to finally take over Roanapur, we have already given you what you asked before so what we do now is no longer of importance to you. Is that about right Doctor?"

Mindbender nodded and replied.

"That is true indeed, however, this Spartan's presence is a concern to us as well."

"How so? I take it he's attacked you as well?"

"That is correct, and since we both have him as a mutual foe…I propose something that may benefit our organizations…though it comes at a price."

The man said nothing for a moment or two, sizing up the chief scientist of Cobra to see just what was cooking there in the man's mind.

"What do you mean by that?"

"We have already paid you a sizable sum for the capture of Michelle Graham and the acquisition of her blood samples. But now we have yet another offer, we have recently been able to create some new…combat force multipliers that can be placed into soldiers."

"You mean augmentations don't you Doctor Mindbender? What does that have to do with my organization?"

"We would like to pay you a very sizable sum, triple that of what we paid you for the kidnapping of Michelle Graham. The mission might deviate from what your people normally due and that is why we are doubling your payment should you take this job."

"Stop beating around the bush Doctor, I have no time for riddles or games, what is it you want?"

"We want to test these prototypes on soldiers to see if these new enhancements, and while we have our own forces, we cannot waste time and money as well as logistics to get them here. That would attract unnecessary attention from the people of this quaint little place. So it would be better that we have soldiers who can be convinced to test these augmentations."

The man, going by the simple name of Anders glared at Mindbender and made his feelings on the meaning known.

"You want to use MY soldiers as test subjects for these augmentations?"

"Yes."

Anders glared even more and took out a Desert Eagle pistol and looked at it and then to Mindbender.

"And what reason would I have to agree to such a request?"

"Several reasons actually, the first is that you will be properly reimbursed by Cobra by doing this as well as paying for any loses if your soldiers do not perform to the standard. Second, this will make you and your select soldiers a lot more dangerous than other factions, and third, it will ensure that you will be able to do some real damage in battle. You shall be paid half of the amount already in advance and we shall do so right now."

Mindbender did just that and pressed on a special computer tablet, Anders turned and looked at the off shore accounts that had been established after their organization had been rebuild and resupplied by Cobra and by those who they had helped in the past. He could already see that a very large amount had been transferred there and he could see that the money was electronically transferred by the business front used by the Crimson Twins.

Anders thought it over and replied.

"That seems too good an offer to refuse, but I have one question, just how is it we earn the half of our payment?"

Doctor Mindbender replied with a very simple smile.

"It's quite simple Commander Anders, you first will release the last of Michelle Graham's friends, let her be rescued to make it seem that the 'good guys' had won as she is no longer of use as the first half of the payment shall indeed reimburse you for her release. Once that is done, you and yours forces, along with those who have taken these augmentations will be able to test them out in a live fire test."

Anders raised his eyebrow and asked the next question.

"And this live fire test is being held where exactly?"

"Why, right here Commander Anders. Roanapur will serve as the live fire test site for these augmentations. Do that and your organization will be paid the other half of your payment, in simple terms, to gain your full payment you and your forces are required to do one simple thing."

"Kill all of those who live in Roanapur that will oppose you… and burn Roanapur to the ground. Anyone who is alive afterwards is yours to take as merchandise, and anything of value that is left intact is yours to take as your own."

Anders shook his head and then gave a dark smile at this.

"You have a lot of guts to offer this to me and my organization Doctor Mindbender, but I have to give you credit for even placing this in my hands to begin with. So be it, we will do as you ask and in turn, we expect that we shall be paid well for this action that we are about to undertake. It is not normally something we do since we are slavers. But Roanapur does present a good opportunity and there are indeed organizations who can a real test here. They also will serve as examples to those who dare to interfere with the Crimson Bond Society and its operations."

Doctor Mindbender smiled and replied to that.

"Very well then, I have prepared for this in advance, my people had brought all the equipment, the personnel, and the augmentations as well. It will not take too long and when the work is complete, then feel free to strike Roanapur."

…

Back in Roanapur…

Duke, Wet-Suit, Road Block and Scarlett were already heading to the location that was provided to them by John. They were armed with their chosen weapons with Wet Suit armed with an MP5 with Suppressor and Laser sight with a set of extended clips loaded with AP rounds to counter the body armor these guys would have with them, on his side was a Glock Pistol with a Suppressor and a Laser sight and a number of extended clips with AP rounds as well. Duke and Road Block were also armed though differently from the Navy SEAL as Duke carried an M4 with Laser Pointer and a Grenade Launder with suppressor to boot while Road Block, befitting his strength and endurance was carrying an M247 SAW while Scarlett stuck to her traditional Crossbow. They had just excited a car that they had 'commandeered' with Wet Suit's help and had used it to get a few blocks from the place.

Once they arrived a block or two away from the site, the excited the vehicle, armed up and placed on some protection as well, namely Kevlar vests with light weight but strong ceramic plates underneath. These were not too comfortable at first but considering who they were fighting, comfort was hardly a concern.

However, as soon as they were in sight of the building and Scarlett used a special set of binoculars armed with night, and thermal vision, she found something troubling.

"No guards?"

Duke was surprised and took out his own set and looked to see the compound, he was not alone in doing that as Wet Suit and Road Block did the very same thing. They too were surprised at the sight of no guards around the compound with Wet Suit speaking.

"That is not right, if they were protecting a high profile hostage like that to be sold for who the hell knows that, there should be SOME guards around the outside, even civilian dressed ones would sound about right."

Road Block nodded.

"I agree, these guys might not be the snakes we deal with but they are still snakes in their own right, and they should have been around."

Duke nodded as he looked about but he was certain that just because it seemed that there were no guards on the outside, there was no promise that there were no guards INSIDE the place."

"They might have the guards inside the building, make the place look abandoned to fool people. We'll know more if we get closer, but we have to move, the night is not going to last forever."

The others nodded and soon they were now getting closer to the compound, once they were close enough they managed to find several sturdy hand holds that were nearby. Scarlett used her athletic skills to vault over the wall with some assistance from her fellow Joes. As she hit the ground silently, she radioed the others to get in carefully and they soon followed, thankfully all of them made it in without making a sound.

But as they moved deeper into the compound they were even more confused by the fact that there seemed to be no guards INSIDE the building either, they also found something just as odd…there were no traps, no trip wires, no sensors, no cameras of any size or type anywhere, no sensors…nothing. The place was emptier than an all you can eat buffet that was attacked by a score of hungry soldiers, they did find signs of movement but those were so faint that it took extra effort for them to notice those in the first place.

Wet Suit commented on that well enough.

"There's something wrong here Duke, this entire place is empty, and it looks like the Crimson Bond just packed up and left."

"I know, they might have moved and taken the hostage they had here with them, we still need to search the whole building before we call it."

The others nodded and they continued to scan the building inch by inch, hoping to find answers and some sign that the woman they had come to rescue was still alive somewhere in this place. They got the surprise of their lives once they got to the last floor underground when they opened the last room.

It was Michelle's friend Dana, and she was alive and was in a room that appeared to have light and running water, a surprise for someone who was supposed to be a prisoner and a potential slave to boot.

Dana was a dark haired woman with brown eyes and skin who wore her hair in a ponytail and had a figure that would have been considered the body of a super model, which fit the fact that she was highly athletic and had been one of the best track and field players in the same school ad Michelle and the others while being able to pass her subjects in academics. Right now she seemed to be dazed and confused as she was rescued by the Joes, who made sure to check her for any possible traps on her person.

She did have injuries, a cut on her lip, several small gashes on her shoulder and some bruising that was seen when Scarlett checked her out while the others went out to secure the place. Scarlett fumed at the bruises on the woman's body but she kept herself focused n the task at hand once Dana managed to find her voice.

"Are you all right?"

"I…I…feel really sick…"

"Did they do anything to you?"

Dana shook her head numbly and Scarlett was worried a bit, as she knew that there could be other injuries, she did notice that she did not have too deep psychological wounds, showing that despite her injuries the Crimson Bond had wanted her alive, though she doubted that they were not going to try and break her once they had the chance.

"Where did they go?"

"I…I don't know…all I know is that they were suddenly pulling out and left me here, they did leave me supplies though…"

Scarlett turned to the packs of food that was there and some liters of water, apparently they had intended that she was to be kept alive as much as possible. The injuries must have been given because she tried to resist her captors at some point in time.

"We should get you out of here."

"Wait…what about Michelle and the others?"

"They are fine, we'll take you to them."

As they were now leaving the place and heading back to the car they commandeered, Duke decided to make sure that as soon as he was able, he was going to talk to the Spartan as well as his associates. There was something going on and it was not a good thing in the mind of the Joe team leader.

…

As the Joes met back in their base of operations while Michelle and the others were waiting for their friend, they could not help but feel that something was wrong when Duke radioed in that they had rescued Dana. There had been absolutely NO resistance to their attack in the place where Dana was and there were no traps, sensors, nothing, the place was cleaned out in a very professional fashion. That was something that they had not expected at all since they all knew the Crimson Bond's reputation. They were not the only one who was confused by the whole situation as John and Cortana were there with them.

They had been the ones to rescue Michelle and her friends and they already had a very good idea just how serious the Crimson Bond were when it came to protecting their 'merchandise'. This sudden drop of resistance, lack of traps, no soldiers, and no harm coming to Dana did not make sense at all. The Spartan was deep in discussion with Duke about this and the two of them were wondering just what was going on while the others were getting the women ready to leave and be picked up by the US Battle Group.

"Are you sure that you had all the intel?"

John nodded at that.

"Yes I am, the data did not lie and you did find Dana there."

"Yeah we did, but the fact that there were no Crimson Bond members there in the compound is confusing at all. Why the heck would the just pack up and leave their hostage alone and alive with supplies no less? Why not take her with them to use her as a bargaining chip or as much as I have to say it, a shield to prevent any rescue attempt."

"I have no idea either Duke, whatever it is they are up to, I doubt that they are going to leave just like that without something to work with."

Scarlett nodded in agreement but she also knew that with all of the women kidnapped by the Crimson Bond now rescued, they had another priority to deal with. And that was to get Michelle and her friends out of the area and get them to the battler group alive and safe. They were still concerned with what the reason was for Cobra to have armed the Crimson Bond with surplus weapons and technology as well, namely the Joes were, Cobra usually handled kidnapping high profile targets themselves and rarely called on outside help, with the exception of Zartan's Dreadnoks, and they were not used on this mission, and even the giving of surplus weapons and equipment as well as funds was odd…just what did Cobra get out of this?

And why was it that the Crimson Bond had suddenly pulled out for not apparent reason?

…

It was not long for the Spartan and the Joes to get an answer to what was the reason why the Crimson Bond Society had suddenly released Dana and began to pull underground. Barely into the second day, mere hours before dawn…the Crimson Bond struck Roanapur hard and fast. The work done by Mindbender and his assistants was complete and now, the real battle was about to begin.

Several missiles came from the jungles and smashed right into several key areas of the city. The first to go was the main power plant as well as several substations, the next were at the harbors, taking out any large vessel capable of hauling goods or even people in large quantities. This was soon followed by the destruction of the city's main communications hubs, namely the buildings that handled radio, telephone and cell phone communications. TV and cable fell, and the last was the airport which had all of it's facilities reduced to rubble, the planes big and small obliterated by missiles and the runways reduced to cratered ruins, rendering any landing or takeoff impossible. It was not long before other attacks began to take place as bands of fully armed and loaded Crimson Bond Society slavers came out from the woodwork and began to indiscriminately fire at anything and anyone that moved.

The citizens of Roanapur were used to violence and had in some ways become numb to it, but that was only when the gangs that resided in Roanapur did it. This was different as citizens were caught completely off guard as the heavily armed and equipped soldiers attacked the place, some drove in well armored Humvees armed to the teeth with heavy machine guns and TOW rockets, others went on foot armed with a new array of weapons and they were quick to move. These men moved with military precision and wasted none of their ammunition as they picked targets and took them down. Already the streets were running red with blood as people fell to the attacks, anyone left alive from the attacks but deemed useless to them were ruthlessly killed, those that could be of use and would be forgotten by the world were taken alive if possible. The Crimson Bond were not caring for the police either as they killed them just as they quickly killed anyone who got in their way, including children who were deemed to be too young to be of any use to them while keeping those they deemed useful alive.

The attack was a shock to all, even the gangs of Roanapur as well as the various terror groups that called this place home were caught completely by surprise with the sudden attack. Several Crimson Bond Fire teams moved into the territory of the Triads and wasted no time in killing their members. Another band were quick to engage the Cartels and the Mafia families, along with Hotel Moscow. They were not alone as another band attacked the Church of Violence while the rest attacked the Police Station, the other mercenary outfits in the city, and that also meant that a very powerful assault team was heading towards the area of Black Lagoon.

Missiles came streaming our from the hidden base of the Crimson Bond and were heading for their designated targets as more of the city was now being ruthlessly attacked from the inside. All of which was provided in secret by Cobra as well as bought by the Crimson Bond themselves when they reformed and they were not alone.

In the lead of the Fire Teams were several heavily armed and equipped members, they were able to move faster and harder than the rest of their comrades and they were laying waste to all that they could see. The burning of Roanapur had begun, and all for the benefit of Cobra who were already pulling out of the region, their work already completed and now they were going to sit back and watch the carnage.

…

In the Cobra cargo/command support plane…

Doctor Mindbender watched the carnage unfold as Roanapur was now under attack and smiled as he began to receive incoming information from his sensors as well as from his agents on the ground.

(Now let us see how the people of Roanapur deal with a force that is not here to take turf or muscle in on their business interests…but to wipe them all out from the map? If they thought that their enemies would be the US Battle Group, then let us see how they react to an enemy that is closer than they think.)

…

In Hotel Moscow…

Balalaika was calm as she listened in to the radio that was issued to her people for instant communications with one another in case their cell phones were not working, as her people were fighting back as best as they could, but in her mind she was cursing in Russian.

(What the hell is going on here? Why are the Crimson Bond attacking us and the rest of the city? They are mercenary slavers! Not a fucking Private Military Contractor force!)

Boris and his fellow soldiers as well as the other members of the Russian Mafia arrived in the Hotel as bullets and more were flying all over the place. The sergeant turned to his long time commanding officer and spoke seriously in Russian.

"Captain, we have been caught off guard by this attack and we are still trying to get ourselves back on our feet."

"How many of our men have we lost sergeant?"

"Quite a few, many of our lower ranking men and even some of our own unit were caught off guard by the attack of the Crimson Bond Captain. Their attacks have crippled communications, power supply, and more. This was no random attack on Roanapur Captain, this was a precision military strike. We've also heard reports from those who we can reach…they are killing everyone."

Balalaika turned and her eyes went hard at this as she spoke.

"What do you mean sergeant?"

"It's just like what I have said Captain, as hard as it is to believe, the Crimson Bond are not taking slaves like the normally would. They are shooting anyone they see, men women, children, young and old, civilians, thugs, bikers, police, and other members of other groups. They are not here to take over territory or even to take slaves…they are here to kill everyone."

The two turned as the sounds of gunfire was all over the place, the sounds were also mixed with the sounds of explosions, the screams of the wounded and the dying as well. And even though she was in her room, Balalaika could not help but feel the vibrations of the explosions and she was quick to make a decision.

"Sergeant, tell our people to fall back immediately, we will fall to other defensive positions and find out what is going on here."

Boris nodded and saluted Balalaika.

"I will do this at once Captain!"

The scarred Russian woman then reached into her private armory after unlocking the storage area, she took out a AKD Assault Rifle as well as a Dragunov Sniper rifle and then took out a Combat Vest and placed the vest on. This was significant to Boris and the others as they had never seen Balalaika do that. She turned and spoke to them once more.

"You are right Sergeant; this is not a hostile takeover of Hotel Moscow's territory and business interests. This is not even some new group trying to flex it's muscles…this is war. Get in contact with Chang and his Triads…get in contact with all the groups, even Black Lagoon. I have no doubt that they are also under attack…contact even that fat bastard Watsup right now. We are now under attack."

Boris nodded as Balalaika loaded her weapons and soon moved out to fight alongside her men, she had thought that she had left war behind. But now it seemed that war had found it's way to her once more. And she had no doubt that at this very moment, the other groups were under attack.

Unknown to Balalaika and her men, a Fire team was being deployed to intercept them in particular, and in the lead of this said Fire Team was one of the augmented soldiers with specific orders…

Take Balalaika alive if at all possible, kill the rest…

…

In the Church of Violence…

Sister Yolanda ducked quickly as she reloaded her Desert Eagle as several of the Crimson Bond soldiers fell to her shots, the eye patch wearing elderly nun huffed as she readied herself and fired her weapon. The Crimson Bond ducked from the incoming fire and they were pinned down even more as Eda and Rico arrived, and began to fight back.

Eda swore deeply as the sounds of bullets flew overhead as well as the splinters of wood, the smell of gunpowder was all over the place as she fired her weapon at the attackers.

"Damn it all to hell! What the fuck has gotten into the minds of these Crimson Bond bastards?"

'I do not know Sister Eda, but their attacks tell much already, we can worry about their reasons later, we must kill them first."

Eda nodded as she quickly got out of cover as well as Rico did and the two of them unleashed a storm of weapons fire, taking down some of the soldiers while forcing the rest of them to get under cover. They had been busy getting ready for the rest of the day, as well as sending a report for her handlers back in Langley when they heard of the missile attacks. It was then that they heard of the sudden assault on the city itself and that included the sounds of destroyed buildings as well as the screams of the victims of the Crimson Bond.

They had barely managed to get themselves fully armed for the battle when they themselves were attacked by the Crimson Bond. They had hit deep into the Church before they began to fight back. The three who formed the Church managed to kill the last of the soldiers but they had little time to rest when they were attacked by another Fire Team, but this one was led by someone…who felt different to them.

They heard him speak in a satisfied tone.

"Bring me the young man and Miss Eda alive if possible, if not, then terminate them as well as the old woman."

…

At the Triads…

Shenhua was able to kill a number of the Crimson Bond soldiers and moved back into cover as more of the soldiers attacked her and the others in the Triads. The attack was something that she had not expected at all and already the signs were there as there were bodies of Triad members. They had been caught off guard and even more so when Fire teams of Crimson Bond soldiers came in and began to attack them. Several Hummers came at them by blasting through the walls with TOW rockets and they were pinned down by weapons fire.

The Taiwanese assassin was able to kill a number of them but she had to pull back as more weapons fire came right at her and the others in the Triads. Chang had recovered from the encounter with the Spartan and had been trying to figure out what was his next course of action when the attack happened and already the place that he and his fellow Triad members were under heavy attack.

They had managed to recover but a large number of their followers were taken out and already the smell of blood was mixing in with the smell of gun powder, and that of fire and more. And now they were fighting for their lives as more of the Crimson Bond began to close in.

Chang swore in Chinese and he reloaded his weapons once he was able to get into cover and was supported by his men, he was soon joined by Shenhua and he hoped that somehow they could figure out what was going on.

The two top fighters of the Triads in Roanapur were about to be in for a surprise when a brand new Fire Team had arrived on site. The leader was another one of the chosen soldiers who had taken the augmentations that were given to them by Doctor Mindbender.

He too had orders that concerned the Triads.

Kill all of the members who were not of use, take the ones who would be of worth as their value was better if they were alive than dead. If not, then they were to be hunted down and killed before they were going to be a threat.

…

Rock, Dutch, Revy, and Benny were also hightailing it out of their base of operations. They were lucky that they were in a location outside of the city and that allowed them to have precious time to escape and get what they knew that they were going to need. The very second they heard the explosions; they were quick to think that the city was under attack by the US military, but Dutch discounted it. His service to the US military made him aware that the Battle Group would have done some initial recon and when they were done getting initial data, they would then deploy forces to secure a base of operations and make their intentions known.

He reminded them that the Battle group was not there to wage war, but to find the president's daughter and only would attack those who would attack them. They understood that and knew quickly that someone had else had attacked Roanapur.

As they moved out in the car after locking down their place, they spotted the Crimson Bond soldiers tearing through the city, killing everyone that got in their way. Rock was utterly shocked by this, Revy was not too affected and the same could be said for Dutch and Benny to some extent, but they were still shocked by what was happening. They also had to be careful as more of the destruction poured all over the city. Benny wanted to make sure his computers were intact while Dutch was trying to avoid the people who were running for their lives.

They were soon greeted by a very dangerous sight…four Humvees were chasing them…and it was here that Rock spotted another group in front of them…and the soldier ahead of them looked different somehow.

…

The groups were not the only ones as every biker group, street thugs, drug dealers, and more were now fighting for their lives as they were being attacked by the Crimson Bond. The battles were brutal and bloody and while they had managed to kill the Crimson Bond soldiers , they were suffering even more as these soldiers were not only well trained but heavily armed and equipped with surplus but highly effective weapons and armor from Cobra and what they had been able to purchase with their own money. It was a battle between those who had never faced an organized and highly effective military style force before, and the results were obvious for all to see as many of them fell dead to spill their blood into the streets.

…

In the safe house…

The Joes and the Spartan were surprised by what was happening around them and it was not long before Cortana provided John with answers to what was going on. As before, the A.I used the orbiting satellites and what she was seeing was something that shocked even her as she moved to scan the whole of the city which was now under siege.

"John, you are not going to believe this, but the satellites show that Roanapur is under attack!"

"By who?"

"The Crimson Bond….they are attacking Roanapur, and they…my god, they are killing everyone they see that is a threat to them."

John was shocked by that as well, of all the things he had expected, the Crimson Bond declaring all out war was not one of them. But he did not let that stop him from doing what he knew was needed, he spoke then to Duke and the others.

"The Crimson Bond are now attacking the city, and they are slaughtering all in their path."

The Joes were surprised by this and Shipwreck was more than willing to speak out his thoughts on the matter.

"Have they lost their minds? Why the heck are they attacking Roanapur?"

"I don't know…Gorgo, can you give me an exact idea of what it is you are seeing with the satellite images?"

They had previously discussed in private while watching the Joes that if he spoke to her using that name, then she could make her presence known though with a modified accent to hide her real origins. And they naturally chose the name of Gorga due to the fact that his cover name while in the MJOLNIR and in the field was Leonidas.

The Joes were confused as to who the man was speaking to when a voice came from the man, and it was not his voice but that of a woman. A woman who had a Greek accent as well as intonation and what they began to guess was someone who was the man's eyes and ears from elsewhere.

"The Crimson Bond have apparently attacked with a great number of Fire Teams which are being supported by military grade Humvees as well as what appears to be long range missile support. Judging from the fires happening in the city, the missiles were the first wave of attack, I am detecting massive fires in the power plant as well as key substations, the telephone and cell phone communications buildings, the airport, all of it's planes and the runway, the harbors and all ships in the area. They have effectively ruined any chance of escape for the people, and I am seeing Fire teams of their soldiers indiscriminately killing anyone who is there before them."

The Joes and even Michelle and her friends were shocked by this, this was unexpected in every sense and now it was imperative that they got Michelle and her friends out of the area. Duke was quick to make his move and spoke to John and Cortana.

"Are there any other missile attacks happening?"

"Negative Duke, I cannot spot any more missile launches, I have managed to calculate with the aid of some of my computer programs that the missiles came from the jungles a fair distance from Roanapur's borders. No doubt there is there the Crimson Bond have launched their attack and could be their base location or a possible attack site that they had stationed in that area."

"Can a small enough ship be able to escape the radar?"

"Possible, but it has to be done now while the Crimson Bond are occupied."

Duke nodded and turned to Road Block, Shipwreck, and Scarlett.

"You will have to get Miss Graham out of her immediately, the longer she and her friends stay here, then it's going to be all the more likely they will get killed with this going on."

Scarlett then spoke seriously to Duke who she cared very deeply about, the idea of leaving him here with what was going on sounded completely insane to her.

"What about you and the others?"

"We need to stay here for now and do what we can to help the populace, this place might be a cesspit for crime and worse, but this kind of indiscriminate slaughter is something we can't ignore."

The Joes nodded in agreement, they could not turn their backs on this and they had to do something now before the situation went completely down south. Shipwreck, Road Block, and Scarlett were soon on their way to get Michelle and her friends out to safety as John spoke to Cortana while using her code-name.

"Gorgo, can you be able to locate any missiles coming from the Crimson Bond base if they should launch and determine their targets?"

"Yes I can, I will need to be able to talk to Scarlett though if there is a danger coming their way, hand them a communications unit Leonidas."

John did that and soon the three Joes chosen to escort Michelle and her friends were now getting on the boat. The device had two actual functions and came in two parts, the first was indeed a communications unit, but the other was a module that John told Scarlett to place on top of the boat itself. That suggestion was for a reason, it was similar to the Active Stealth Camouflage Module that John had, but it was not the same, it was something that had been developed by Cortana to actually create an invisible and harmless field of energy that served to 'mask' a vehicle from being detected by radar of satellite cameras and sensors but without physically making the vehicle disappear. The vehicle would be seen by the human eye but not by anything else but the Joes did not know that and it too had some security measures to make sure that it was not going to be easily cracked open by anyone.

As soon as the device was on and the group were soon out, Cortana guided them to safety while making sure that the device was active . In the mean time, she also began to coordinate them in locating the groups of Roanapur, they might be criminals but they could be helpful in fighting back. It would have sounded wrong, but they did not have much choice in the matter as there was no escape, and the fact was that their livelihoods were tied to Roanapur meant that they had a lot to lose apart from their lives.

It was not long before Cortana located the very first gang who had survived the initial attack.

…

Balalaika and Boris as well as the surviving members of their special unit as well as those of Hotel Moscow moved as best they could. They had managed to defeat the last Fire Team to escape, and they were not able to escape without any wounds on them either. Balalaika had a gash on her right shoulder, several gashes on her side which were bleeding as the blonde woman managed to keep moving despite the blood flowing down her left eye from another wound that she had just suffered.

Boris and the others faired little better as they had bruises and gashes on them, as well as several splashes of blood to boot on their clothes. The Fire Team sent to take them out were killed but they had been severely tested by the augmented soldier sent with the team and many of their comrades were either badly wounded or killed outright. They had no other recourse but to level their former headquarters as the place had been badly shelled and was no longer defensible. They used the escape route they had and triggered the destruction of the place while taking anything they needed as well as taking all the files they needed in USBs and had them in specially hardened storage cases.

They moved as best they could through the now ruined and burning streets, the sights of dead people, either shot dead, crushed by failing debris, burned alive and those who were badly wounded, began to have an effect on them. This reminded them of the battles they had been part of in Afghanistan and those sights were disturbing to some degree concerning the brutalities committed by their side and that of the rebels.

They had no time to react when they were suddenly blocked by a number of Crimson Bond soldiers and despite their wounds, they were ready to fight and defend their Captain. Balalaika herself was ready to fight alongside her men and she was not going to surrender to these slaver bastards.

One spoke to them group.

"There is no escape for you…drop your weapons and we might let you live."

Boris snorted and replied in Russian.

"And be slaves to you? Never!"

The man snorted and aimed his weapon and was followed by his unit, the end seemed to be before them, but Hotel Moscow was not going down without a fight. However they were not going to die just yet as they were about to be rescued, one of the Crimson Bond lost her head…literally as she fell dead, her weapon still in her dead hands. The Crimson Bond were surprised and that was a mistake for them as the members of Hotel Moscow took advantage of the situation as they fired back.

It was here that Balalaika and her men saw their rescuers, they were armored figures armed with weapons that they knew were not regular weapons. The armor that they had on was completely different and high tech looking as well as their weapons. It was here that they spotted the Spartan, carrying his own weapons as well. Apparently these armored figures were his men as they spotted him making command gestures to them that they obeyed.

The fire fight did not last long and soon the Crimson Bond were dead and the Spartan's men were now moving towards them. The members of Hotel Moscow looked warily at the armed and armored humans and while the new arrivals did not wear the same armor as their commanding officer, it was obvious to them that they were better armed and equipped than them.

Balalaika looked at the Spartan warily, recalling her first meeting with the man, but her eye went to the other arrivals who were alongside the Spartan. She had not been in the military grapevine for a long time but she still had friends in high places…including the October Guard and therefore she recognized them and spoke in Russian.

"The G.I Joes…working with the Spartan and his own men…this is different."

"I agree Captain…but what are the US's most recognized special military force doing here?"

"No doubt they came for the President's daughter."

John heard all of that and to the surprise of Hotel Moscow, he spoke to them in flawless Russian.

"It's good to see that you and your men are still alive."

Balalaika glared back at the Spartan along with her men and replied.

"That's odd since when we first met, you shot at me and my men, not to mention destroying one of my rifles."

"If I wanted to kill you and your men Captain Balalaika, I would have done it hours before. You are not my enemies, and now you and your men are going to have to help me and my men as well as the Joes."

"And why would we do that?"

"Because we're going to need your help in order to stop the Crimson Bond from burning Roanapur to the ground in this unexpected attack that they have started. They already took out many of the ships in the harbors and no doubt your own as well, as well as the airport and the planes there. And it is obvious that any and all communication systems were taken out. There is no other way to escape, you have to either fight or retreat somehow."

Before Balalaika could point out the state of her men, John replied to that well enough.

"But for now, you and your men need to recover, there is a safe house that my men and the Joes have. You'll need an escort there to avoid any roving patrols, but I doubt you are the only ones."

John turned and spoke to Cortana, though using her code name as Gorga as she would speak to him and also speak through the MJOLNIR's speakers.

"Gorga, can you send me an exact route to send Hotel Moscow on to get to the safe house and avoid Crimson Bond patrols?"

"Yes, I also have managed to locate members from the Triads, it seems that Chang's men and their Taiwanese assassin has evaded the patrols and forces. They are however badly wounded and are not going to avoid the patrols forever, I also have detected the members of the Church of Violence and they too are badly wounded, and the same can be said for Black Lagoon, along with a few other groups as well as what is left of the Roanapur police force."

John nodded and turned to the B.A.T which wore the Marksman ODST BDU and spoke in English.

"269-00 A! Front and center!"

The B.A.T responded and spoke in a specially made voice.

"Sir!"

"You are to escort Hotel Moscow to the safe house and avoid enemy patrols, do your best, understand?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

…

It was not long before John and the Joes were able to rally everyone that they could while making sure to get the civilians to head off into the jungles to avoid the Crimson Bond. So far the group's forces were focusing on other matters and as such, they were not pursing the Spartan and those who were with them.

As the city of Roanapur was burning block by block, the gangs and groups that called the city home were now meeting up in a sector of the city that was not yet engulfed in flame or being attacked by the forces of the Crimson Bond. The attack unleashed by the Crimson Bond Society had totally caught them off guard and it was only due to the actions of their leaders as well as Black Lagoon itself as well as the efforts of John, Cortana, their B. and the Joes as well that they were all alive and recovering. They had lost a large number of their forces and many of their territories were now being reduced into nothing but burning ruins, the Black Lagoon's base was intact for the most part but they were forced to lock it down so as to avoid the Fire Teams from the Crimson Bond Society that came after them.

The same could not be said for the others, Chang and his group had to leave their ruined HQ behind, having lost many men and it was only with Shenhua's skills and Chang's own that they killed the augmented soldier. Eda and Rico were still alive but Yolanda was too badly wounded and was not able to speak, it had taken a concerted effort from all of them to defeat their own augmented attacker. Watsup was also alive but had suffered bad wounds and blood loss and he was out for the count, and only handfuls of the police could be rescued during the fighting. Black Lagoon were also lucky to an extent but had lost their ride as they had to ditch it and fight their way through the ambush, Rock was lucky in that regard and had escaped with no wounds thus far, but his shirt was a mess and had blood on it, not his but Revy's as he had to help her when she had been cut by shrapnel while Dutch did the same for Benny though the Jewish hacker was not too hurt.

They were not the only ones as Sawyer was around and a few others as well, it was a tense situation but they were happy that all of them made it out alive from this sudden attack that had happened all around them. John had to use a lot of supplies to patch up the wounded as best he could even though he had few supplies to begin with, but he made due at the very least.

Now was the time to take the fight to the Crimson Bond before they could gather more momentum and Cortana already had a plan as she had sent their covert warship to Roanapur and it was going to be able to avoid the US Battle Group that was going in. The Ghost Eagle was going to be key in shattering the Crimson Bond before they could get a stronger foot hold in the areas they had cleared out, and continue with their attacks.

Naturally not everyone in the place was in the same page.

Revy was furious at John and was about to take a shot at him as well as the other Joes, but not only was she being prevented by Rock, but by John himself who had his DMR right in her face while his B.A.T units in ODST gear were also aiming their weapons in that direction.

She not the only one as Shenhua glared at John as well as a number of the Cartels who had been recovered and had been itching for a fight. John however was not all that concerned with the hostile reception and calmly spoke to Revy.

"You have a bad habit of aiming your weapons at the wrong people Miss Revy."

"Fuck you, you armored freak!"

"Revy! Stop ithe saved our lives!"

"Yeah right! Who's to say that he and his armored circus nuts are actually working for those Crimson Bond freaks?"

John snorted and replied.

"If I was working for them, don't you think that I would already taken you down and kept you alive?"

"I'd like to see you try! Toss aside those guns of yours and that Armor, I'd fucking kill you with my bare hands."

It was here that Cortana spoke.

"Oh please…spare us your bravado Miss Revy, Leonidas here, even without the guns and the Armor can break apart your bones and then he will rip out your limbs and beat you to death with them. If you want to live and keep said limbs intact, place those guns aside, you're embarrassing yourself and us to boot."

That surprised everyone and Shenhua spoke next.

"Who that?"

"The name's Gorgo, I am the chief intelligence officer of Spartan Company and tactical support as well as logistics, I have worked with Leonidas for most of our career and I can say that unlike those you've gotten into battles with…even Roberta and Sawyer, Leonidas is in a class of his own."

Revy spat out her distrust and replied.

"Fuck you! Show yourself b…"

Before she could finish that sentence, John's left arm snaked out from his grip on the DMR and grabbed her by the throat before she could even react. Revy gasped and quickly felt like her throat was trapped in a vice which tightened in a heart beat around her as she felt herself begin to choke.

John then replied with a dark tone underneath his calm façade.

"Utter words like that again about Gorgo, then I will crush every bone in your neck, and that is not a threat. I am not in the business of making threats, but promises so if I said that to you, make no mistake I will follow through."

John then moved his hand away from Revy's throat just as fast as the woman coughed at the sudden release of pressure around her throat and her reflexive taking in of air. She glared at John once more but Rock placed his hand on her shoulder, she turned and shook his head to her.

"We're not going to win anything here Revy, so stop it, we have other concerns to deal with before us."

Gorga/Cortana then replied with a tone that showed that she was pleased.

"Finally someone in this room from this group with a rather nice amount of common sense and who thinks first before acting like an idiot hyped up on steroids. All right then, you all can guess that we're all here for one reason, and that is to help stop the attack of the Crimson Bond before they turn Roanapur into the dust."

Chang then replied.

"And why should that be a concern to you, or the Joes for that matter?"

Duke replied seriously.

"Normally it's not, and had things been different, we would have left the matter be, but with the fact that the Crimson Bond is behind the kidnapping and none of you are, you are not the targets, and now with them slaughtering people indiscriminately, that has to be stopped. The President's daughter and her friends are safe so now this has to be stopped. We know something else as well, the Crimson Bond were being supported and supplied by Cobra, no doubt you know them?"

Everyone from Roanapur nodded, who had NOT heard of Cobra after all, but it was here that Yolanda spoke despite her condition.

"But why would they do that? What could they possibly gain by helping the Crimson Bond in kidnapping the President's daughter and her friends, bring them here, then have the Crimson Bond suddenly declare all out war on us?"

Cover Girl shook her head.

"We do not know, Cobra recently dropped off the grid and a number of their bases were abandoned for some reason. They also seemed to have fired most if not all their military forces, that happened for months and this was unexpected. Normally kidnapping high profile VIPs is something they do themselves since they have the manpower, funds, assets, and intel to do it, or they hire the Dreadnoks only. This is the first time they had hired someone else to do their dirty work and that is the first sign of them for a long time now."

Wet suit then replied.

"But that's not a concern right now, we'll find out what those snakes are up to sooner or later, this has to end now."

Eda replied in annoyance, having ditched her sunglasses as they had been ruined in the fighting.

"In case is escaped your attention, we're out manned, and out gunned, we didn't have enough time to resupply and any of our caches in the city are burned down so we don't have the firepower. Not to mention we are not exactly an army here, the Triads, the Cartels, the Albanians, and Hotel Moscow have lost a lot of men."

John shrugged and replied to that.

"We can deal with that easily enough, scavenge any weapons and ammunition you can find from any source, namely from their dead. That's one way of relieving that ammunition and weapons problem. On the second, Gorga and I have already called in some support of our own to deal with the manpower that the Crimson Bond has."

Balalaika commented on that.

"And how do you propose to do that and with what exactly?"

"We have a naval combat asset already moving in and ready to provide long range firepower with precise targeting systems to deal with them. We'll cut them down while they are out in the open and you can move in and take them out while they are still disorganized and unable to rally. Gorga will coordinate the artillery support as well as the movements and locate their base for a full scale assault once she's cleared the area of opposition, once that's done, we're on out own."

Cover Girl was surprised by this as well as the other Joes, and made that obvious as she spoke.

"You have a naval vessel on your side as well as airborne assets?"

"Cover Girl, if Spartan Company has the money and resources to make my armor and weapons, as well as that of my men and our respective equipment, then having a ship of our own is nor exactly hard to swallow along with air support."

John then turned his attention to the people of Roanapur before him.

"Make no mistake, all of you have a stake in this battle, you have managed to keep the status quo here for a long time, and despite the conflicts have managed to make a living here in this city and nowhere else. Well today, all of them is on the line. You know that the Crimson Bond will want to wipe you out, those of you that do survive are no doubt going to be slaves to them. That goes for everyone else in Roanapur, and while I doubt that all of you, with the exception of Rock have any shred of altruism in your body, you all know that you do not have a choice in this matter."

"The Crimson Bond have already destroyed any ships in harbor and will destroy you if you attempt to escape using any ship that you might find intact, the airport and the planes there are long destroyed so escape by plane is impossible, communications by any means to the outside world are no longer possible so none of the organizations you belong to have a single idea on what is happening to you here in this city."

"In simple terms, the whole situation is FUBAR, there will be no backup and there is no escape. You cannot pay the Crimson Bond off for they have no doubt been paid handsomely by Cobra to do this, and they are already fulfilling their part of the bargain to them. Your backs are to the wall and the only thing that keeping you all alive is the fact that you are all here. So it's up to you, either you fight back against the Crimson Bond alongside each other, me and my men, and the Joes and possibly save yourselves and this city that you call home…or you don't and be wiped out one by one. As for the third option of running…it's not going to happen and you all know it, they will hunt you all down and it will be the end of it…Roanapur is gone and so will the rest of you. It's your choice."

It did not take too long for them to decide…

…

In Roanapur…

The Crimson Bond soldiers were busy moving through the still burning remains of Roanapur where they had begun their attack and they were now moving into the other sectors of the city. They continued to torch and destroy the buildings that they were able to find intact and those who they did not kill were taken away, those who were too wounded or dying were killed, regardless of gender or age. It seemed that there was nothing that could be done to stop them once they had destroyed Roanapur and left this place to burn, then they would have more than enough money to start over and become the force they once were. And the destruction of Roanapur would be a message to all that they were back and revenge would be theirs. This was going to be their day of triumph and no one was going to stop them.

Or so they thought, for at a fair distance from the coast, the UNSC Ghost Eagle was now in combat ready position, it was still cloaked and had burned a lot of power to reach Roanapur as it had been brought in just in case. And now it's firepower was being aimed at them as two Wombats were now in the air as the Rail Gun was now out of the storage area and now primed to fire as the ship was being stabilized. It was not long before the very first round rocketed out from the Rail Gun and headed to it's first target.

A Crimson Bond Humvee convoy was the first to be reduced to scrap, the soldiers who were there in the vehicles only heard a mighty roar and thought it was another building that their fellow soldiers were demolishing. That was a mistake as the Rail Gun round smashed hard into them and the sheer kinetic force tore the Humvees apart like they were tissue paper. The soldiers in the vehicles were instantly torn to shreds, and those who were walking around them were instantly killed, some torn apart by sheer kinetic force, others had their organs and bones pulverized by the shockwaves and they were smashed hard into the area around them.

The next were a Team getting ready to clear out a building that was devoid of anyone who was not on their side. The round smashed into the building and soon buried the ones near it alive in tons of rubble while the others were torn to shreds. They had no time to react at the attack and were now strewn all over the place in one gory mess that was not going to be forgotten.

Another convoy, a mixture of people and vehicles were also reduced into a massive mess as there was now a crater where they had been as the rail gun round smashed into them like a hammer crushing an egg shell. The bodies were either pulverized into a bloody smear, or they were torn apart internally by the forces unleashed by the kinetic round.

The Ghost Eagle did not relent at all as Cortana's copy inside the ship was being relayed by the Wombats to locate targets of opportunity, slaughtering the Crimson Bond Fire Teams that were unaware of just what was going on. Soon several groups of hostile Crimson Bond slavers were being destroyed and already the effects were obvious as the Crimson Bond in the field were demanding answers on what the hell was going on and who was responsible for their forces being torn apart and falling off the communications grid

These attacks were more than enough to cover the assault of the reinvigorated Roanapur forces, it had been agreed by them thanks to Rock being the mediator and diplomat that an agreement was reached. They were to fight alongside the Joes and Spartan Company in retaking Roanapur and defeating the Crimson Bond, in exchange they were allowed to have salvage rights on the ruins of the Crimson Bond base and their forces, but anything that would be too sensitive had to be in the hands of the Joes and Spartan Company for demolition to prevent dangerous materials from being sold around.

That had not been easy as many of them knew that reconstruction of Roanapur was going to be horrendously expensive, and rebuilding their operations was going to cost twice as much, maybe even more. This was why they needed a serious amount of cash in many levels and as such, they felt that anything worth selling should be in their hands. John however was not budging on the matter, and neither was Duke as he too did not want them to get their hands on what kind of special and dangerous weapons Cobra had given the Crimson Bond since there was no telling what they were going to do with it.

Rock managed to convince everyone in Roanapur that now was not the time for this, and he was right, there was no telling if those weapons they found would be safe and besides, they needed the Spartan's forces and the Joes to help them fight back. It was a risk, but it was better than trying to fight without their help and that was enough to make the groups cave in and accept the terms.

Their attacks proved to have caught the Crimson Bond by utter surprise as several of the scattered and now disorganized Fire teams were taken out by the combined force. The Roanapur forces were quick to take whatever weapons and ammunition that they could get their hands on once they were done killing their enemies in revenge.

Shenhua and Sawyer were more than eager for the fight as the of them began to slice through the Crimson Bond soldiers with relish, much to the disgust of the Joes. But this was ignored by the others from Roanapur as they were used to seeing those two in action, and by John and his B.A.T units, the former since he had seen FAR worse in his career, and the later being machines and not living beings in any sense.

The stock piles of ammunition that John had on hand was enough to resupply the others as well as himself, and already the salvaged weapons from the dead Crimson Bond began to give them the chance to fight back. All the while, Cortana was flying overhead with the satellites and coordinating their movements as well as that of the Ghost Eagle which fired it's weapon only on areas that had heavy concentrations of enemy forces.

Revy, Eda, Balalaika, Chang, Dutch, and Boris were moving up to take the fight to their new enemies while John, Duke, Cover Girl, and Wetsuit were also in the lead as John knew that they had to be fast and hard to deal with the Crimson Bond while they were still disorganized by the unexpected counter attack hours only after their own attack. The others from the different factions working as one had moved to take out other Crimson Bond Fire Teams in order to break their control over most of the city area. Along the way they were able to get as much firepower as they could from those that they had managed to kill in battle. The bodies were beginning to pile up and those of Roanapur's underworld who had managed to somehow survive found out about the counter attack and soon joined in. This showed that they also knew that fighting one another was now pointless and they were better off fighting the Crimson Bond.

It was not long however that the Crimson Bond began to counter attack as they were getting themselves reoriented after the sudden strike. Already they were fighting back and more people fell, but this time the forces of the city's people were not giving up. They had been caught off guard and had suffered, but when the chance to fight back came, they took it. It also helped that Cortana was still unleashing round after round of the Ghost Eagle's main Rail Gun to wipe of the more dangerous resistance cells of the slaver forces.

John himself was joined by Duke and Cover Girl and while he had no desire to have Rock in this force, the Japanese national and former salaryman was adamant to follow him. He relented only because he knew that Rock was well respected by the factions in Roanapur and as such, he would be able to keep them focused on the agreement, which was why he had given the man protection in the shape of body armor. The man in turn was escorted by Revy and Eda though John could tell that there was some simmering tension between the two women when it concerned this man.

The Spartan ignored that as he and his B. were also making their presence felt as they cut down more and more of the Crimson Bond soldiers that were in their way to the main objective which was the possible location of the Crimson Bond base. Taking that out should end the threat these vicious slavers posed once and for all, but he doubted that it was going to be that simple as nothing ever was. Duke and the other Joes then moved aside to deal with another force trying to move and outflank them, letting the others go ahead of them.

And sure enough, it was not as he and those with him stumbled into a combined Crimson Bond attack force.

The group of slavers and their vehicle crews fired at the group of Hotel Moscow, Lagoon Company and the Triads as the Spartan looked at the assembled group and spotted two of them armed with Stinger Missile Launchers, those were used normally against aircraft, but they could be aimed to the ground as well.

Chang and Balalaika saw that as well as Dutch and the Russian swore in a very angry tone as she recalled how many of her fellow Russian soldiers and airmen dreaded those weapons funneled to the Afghans by the Americans so long ago.

"Stingers…damn it."

Chang then replied in a serious tone.

"This is bad."

John however decided to end this as he then placed his M7S SMGs to his side as well as his MA37 and the DMR despite the oddness of the positioning and then grabbed a pair of HK G36 rifles with extended magazines from two dead Crimson Bond Society soldiers and got ready to move. Revy saw that and spoke out what was in her mind while reloading her weapons.

"What the hell kind of crazy suicidal shit plan is going through that head of yours? !"

John replied stoically as he then took both weapons in hand.

"Watch."

They did just that and were about to get an eyeful as the Spartan charged forward at remarkable speed, leaving them gasping at the sight, unaware that they were going to witness a Spartan going into action at full tilt. The Spartan aimed quickly as he had spotted the Crimson Bond soldiers beginning to fire at him. He quickly began to fire precise shots that took out his enemies at extreme range, using his MJOLNIR's sensors to give him an edge as he continued to move, firing both weapons in his hands easily enough as the recoil compensator systems countered that.

The assembled forces of Roanapur watched wide eyed at the sight and Revy for once didn't speak and merely looked at what was going on as more Crimson Bond soldiers were being taken out. The Spartan pushed in with his Ma37 on his back as he finally took down the soldiers who were in front of him and the others. It was here that the ones armed with the Stinger fired their missiles and they were no longer aimed at the groups from Roanapur, but the Spartan himself, this was no doubt a move to take him out now.

John spotted them as he heard the HKG36 rifles in his hands click empty, he ignored that and tossed them aside just as the two missiles were fired out, one came at John ahead of the other one and it seemed that they were going to hit. However, John merely moved in, slowing down only a bit to quickly swat the missile aside and then he grabbed the other as the first missile was sent totally off course to slam into a ruined building and explode violently.

As that happened, John quickly turned around and used the momentum to send the missile in his hand back to the attackers as he then reached for his M7S SMGs and moved quickly to attack as the second missile slammed into the ones who shot it and it's twin. The missile exploded and killed the two shooters, just as the Spartan leaped over them, firing all the while as the smoke and flames hid him from view.

The groups moved ahead to see just what the heck had happened and were soon greeted by a sight they had never seen before.

Revy, Dutch, Benny, Rock, Balalaika, Boris, Chang, Shenhua, and Eda looked on in utter disbelief as the Spartan was carrying both M7S SMGs in hand and was surrounded by a river of blood and bodies as the force that had been in the way were all wiped out…in a span of seconds as there was not a single survivor from the Crimson Bond Society left. The head of Hotel Moscow shook her head at the sight and even Boris looked on with a raised eyebrow at the results.

Revy recovered and shouted out,

"NO FUCKING WAY THAT JUST HAPPENED!"

Chang then replied.

"Like it or not Revy, it happened, never thought I'd see the day that someone would actually SLAP a missile away in mid flight with one hand, then catch the other one and send it BACK to the shooter."

Benny then replied.

"Now THAT is the epitome of the phrase, 'Return to sender', with interest."

And for the first time Rock turned to Revy and replied.

"You SURE you want a rematch with him?"

Revy did not say a word as John placed aside those weapons and turned to retrieve his MA37 ICWS Assault Rifle from his back while leaving the DMR there as he spotted the F-99 Wombats flying overhead and he was soon able to access their feeds thanks to Cortana and he turned to the group.

"Are you done staring?"

The members of Roanapur's criminal underworld finally nodded as the other B. and the Joes arrived on the scene as well, they missed the sight so they had no idea what had just happened. The B. went ahead and they were soon joining their 'commander' as John led the charge while the sounds of artillery were over their heads as the Ghost Eagle, being fed satellite and aerial data by the satellites and the Wombats began to pick off any forces of the Crimson Bond that were still out in the open.

This naturally would open the way for the rest of them to attack the base of the Crimson Bond which was now uncovered by Cortana. The Spartan then took out a TACPAD and showed to the force behind what they were soon going to be attacking in the jungle.

Apparently the base had been hidden well, using a similar system that was used by Cobra to house their mining base back in South America, but since it had been kept off the loop and out of the records, it had taken Cortana few nanoseconds to find it, something she did not like. This was met with some disbelief by the Roanapur residents but it made sense to the Joes as they were soon moving with the Master Chief and his forces to the site.

He however reminded them of the agreement that had been made by Rock and they nodded to show that none of them had forgotten it in any possible way, and while he had some doubts about that, he did not press the issue. He still wondered why he had even allowed a civilian like Rock with them, but with him around, at least he would be able to make sure that the bosses kept their word. That to him was a good sign and why it was possible that despite being surrounded by the kind of people that would make most regular folks soil their underwear or scream in fear, the man was still able to stomach it.

As for Benny, he was interested in shutting down the Crimson Bond's little security system if he could get close enough, that in itself sounded like a suicide mission, but with Balalaika assigning some of her fully recovered soldiers behind him, as well as Chang sending Shenhua along, the chances of success were higher, even more so with them being watched by Wet Suit and one of his B.A.T units.

It was now time to take the fight to the enemy and in their very own backyard while they were still trying to recover from the assault of the Ghost Eagle. The others were busy moping up the scattered and shell shocked remains of the Crimson Bond while the rest of them were going to take the battle to the Crimson Bond's now revealed base of operations.

…

In the outskirts…

The battle between the Crimson Bond and the combined forces of Roanapur's criminal underworld, the Joes, and Spartan Company became even more pronounced. The Ghost Eagle under Cortana targeted the defensive bunkers and heavy emplacements to soften up the opposition to the rest of the assault team. Already the forces with John and Cortana as well as the Joes were reformed and all of them were better armed and resupplied.

As they were attacking and the heavy emplacements were being taken out, Benny was able to reach what appeared to be a security area, Shenhua and those who were escorting the man killed the opposition and he went to work trying to hack down the base's security systems to make sure that they were not able to lock down their base to make it twice as hard to get into. It took some trial and error for the man as M. equipment was new to him even if these were surplus only equipment, not mention that the cyber-warfare teams of the slavers were fighting back. But it was not long before Benny was able to prove himself and managed to lock out the Crimson Bond from locking their base down.

Chang had placed aside his pistols and was now using a specially modified HKG36 with a grenade launcher he had gotten from a dead officer and was alongside Balalaika who carried an FN FAL Assault Rifle with a Shotgun attachment. The two leaders were behind cover and he spoke to the scarred Russian woman.

"Now this is intense…I don't recall ever being in this kind of a fight back when I was still in law enforcement."

"Be thankful for that babe…I can only recall how my men and I fared when we were in Afghanistan long ago. This is close to that, but these bastards deserve to die."

"Couldn't agree more."

Dutch was armed with a recovered M4 Carbine in place of his Shotgun and Magnum as he was also in cover with Rock next to him alongside Revy.

"Damn, this makes my time in Vietnam look like a cakewalk…at least Benny-boy took down the security network, it would be a real bitch slap in the balls having to fight these bastards room for room in their home turf."

Rock nodded at that and Revy agreed.

"Your right there Dutch, these guys aren't pussies though, I never had this much fun before…like ever."

Eda appeared and replied to that she had placed aside her pistol and was carrying an Enfield Assault Rifle while Rico had his M60 with him.

"Don't get too comfortable, we're still going to have to deal with more of them."

"I know that."

Cortana reported to John that she could not send them long range support from the Ghost Eagle's Rail Gun now, they were already getting into the base interior and any attempt to fire could get them caught in the field of fire. He nodded and made sure to pass that information around to his B.A.T units who in turn relayed it to the others. They were not going to have artillery backup now, they were very much on their own. But that did not stop them as they continued to attack as they all felt that this was their chance to finally defeat the Crimson Bond.

It was here that John went ahead into the deeper areas of the base. He had moved into the base ahead of the others to try to locate and it possible kill the leader of this force to cut the head of the snake clean off. The others would have gone with him, but the Crimson Bond who were still alive were not making it easy. There were still many of them but with them not being able to get mobilized to fight back, they were still going to be out for the count.

As he entered what appeared to be a massive internal hallway, John soon found himself under attack…and this time around, he was not going to be fighting just regular soldiers and officers. Once of them was a massive man and the weapon he had in his hands was anything but simple.

It was a Browning M2 Heavy Machine Gun, and the man seemed to carry it in the same way his old Spartan II friend Jorge carried his own massive weapon. The man glared at John as they faced each other and then spoke in a fury.

"I am Anders, Commander of the Crimson Bond, and today is the day that you die Spartan!"

…

John quickly got to cover as more of the .50 caliber rounds came at him as Anders continued to unleash his Browning Machine Gun forcing him to cut his attack short. The leader of the Crimson Bond was calm but he was not going to back down and seemed to be intent on dealing with the Master Chief. He was not alone as the surviving Crimson Bond soldiers were also fighting both the Spartan, the Joes, and the assembled gangs of Roanapur. The scarred man then spoke darkly as he continued to unleash more firepower on the Spartan.

"You have been a thorn on my side for too long! I shall kill you and send your wretched corpse for all to see!"

John ignored that and took out a fresh clip for his MA37 and once that weapon was loaded, he switched to his DMR and got into a position to spot one of the shooters and despite the bullets in his area, managed to shoot well enough and take out the shooter. The Spartan quickly moved from cover and avoided several more shots but he saw his shield gauge begin to drop due to impact damage and turned to shoot at two more of the Crimson Bond soldiers.

Anders roared out his orders to those of his followers who were still very much alive and willing to fight with him against the Spartan.

"Surround him! Prevent him from escaping!"

The Master Chief quickly found some much needed cover and fired several more shots, taking down three more of the Crimson Bond soldiers and even forcing Anders to cover. This gave him a chance to recover some of his wits and Cortana spoke to him at this moment.

"There's something wrong with that leader of the Crimson Bond, the bio-scans are coming out wrong on him."

"What do you mean?"

"I've detected an increase in all of his baseline body functions and also detected a large increase in his body's reaction time throughout the whole battle John, and the numbers go beyond what even the most well trained soldier can do of this era. That must mean he is either taking combat performance drugs…or…"

"He's been augmented…that's explaining why he can carry that .50 caliber machine around and handle not just the weight but the recoil to boot."

"That might every well be the case John, we've got ourselves a fight and from the way it seems at this time, it is going to be a serious one. We're going to need some help on this before things go really bad."

John nodded and quickly got into contact with the B.A.T.s who were still outside and ordered them break the engagement and get in to support him. The android soldiers agreed as it seems that the outside situation was getting close to being resolved already by the others which was why they would be able to do far greater good in supporting him. The force of androids moved quickly and cut down the enemies before them and as soon as they were in the battle field that John and Cortana were in. They soon got into battle position as the one armed with the Sniper Rifle began to lay down covering fire while the others moved to support John with their own weapons.

Anders roared as he also went to cover to avoid the incoming fire, he used that time frame to reload his weapon as he took out a large block of .50 caliber ammunition. The new upgrades he had gotten to him were more than worth it as this would finally be the key to ending the Spartan. And besides that, this chance to end the Spartan would also be something that would boost the stand of his organization. The Spartan had gained a good deal of attention from Cobra and taking out the Spartan would have boosted their organization in their eyes and would have been a chance to gain more allies and supplies. And if they got a hand on his technology and weapons, and his armor, it would have been worth billions to whoever wanted it.

As soon as he reloaded his specially modified Browning M2, he went back to attacking the Spartan as well as the ones who were there to attack him and the remaining numbers of his men. He had made the call for those in his elite guard to unleash their weapons and he was soon joining them as he unleashed more of the .50 caliber rounds on his attackers.

…

John quickly got out of cover and charged as quickly as he could to another amount of thick concrete to allow his shields to recharge. This also allowed him to get closer to the leader of the Crimson Bond forces who was now leading what was themed as an armed invasion of Roanapur. His MA37 was still in good hands as he unleashed a barrage of bullets on another foe as one of the B., namely the one armed with the Sniper Rifle take down one of the Crimson Bond soldiers armed with a grenade launcher. That was a good move on his point of view and he quickly moved to grab the weapon from the now dead soldier.

He moved to avoid the incoming bullets, aware that even his MJOLNIR's shields would not be able to take those kinds of hits well enough and he therefore had to keep moving. As soon as he could get in position, he aimed both his current weapon and the recently dropped one in two hands. He fired a burst from his MA37 which helped kill two more of the Crimson Bond elite guard by aiming at the weak points of their armor and followed it with a grenade launcher round, reducing the men to bloody smears. He then fired another burst at Anders while his B. covered his attack, the burst managed to force the massive man to cover as John fired the next round from the grenade launcher and it was able to send the man back.

The Crimson Bond leader swore as he was able to get back to cover but now had to move as the grenade round hit near him. He got back up a bit but to his frustration found that the ammunition belt to his M2 was torn off and could no longer be used to fire with. He took the weapon and tossed it towards the Spartan. The armored warrior blocked the discarded heavy weapon aside allowing Anders to fire his pistol.

The rounds bounced off the man's shields and the Spartan then fired a few rounds of his own, and one such round smashed into the gun. The impact was enough to break the weapon and left Anders only with his Knives.

Anders roared out as he charged at the Spartan and he took out the two massive Bowie Knives that he had with him. The Spartan spotted that and fired several rounds at the man. His new body armor vest managed to take some of the damage but he was wounded, but the implants and drugs in his system that he had taken before hand dulled the pain and he was not going to waste it. The Spartan realized that now was the time to reload, he was forced to use his MA37 ICWS Assault Rifle as a short staff as he blocked a downward stab from the man while using his free hand to block the other knife as he grabbed Anders' arm.

Anders quickly kicked at the Spartan and despite his power not being up to the strength level needed to hurt a Spartan II Commando in his MJOLNIR Mark VI, it was enough to cause some of the shield energy to be used up to block the attack. This was enough to surprise John somewhat as the only beings who could hit with that much force to actually cause a decrease in his MJOLNIR's shields would either be Sangheili, Jiralhanae, Hunters, the Flood Combat Forms using their claws, and the Pure Flood Tank forms. But they were able to do far worse and no human would be able to hit with the force he had gotten.

Cortana noted that as well and was quick to try and scan the man and see if the armor he wore was actually somehow augmenting his strength.

John however had other matters to deal with as the man before him managed to push him back and allow one of the other Crimson Bond Elites who was armed with a massive machete to try and take his head off. The Spartan quickly evaded the attack and as the blade sank down, he lashed out with the butt of his weapon right into the face of the attacker.

CRUNCH!

That sound was quickly joined by the sound of a crushed skull as the attacker dropped dead, but that allowed Anders to attack and use a recovered Desert Eagle to shoot at the Spartan. The shields of the MJOLNIR held off the damage but that was no reason for John to get cocky as he quickly dodged it. However the Spartan was surprised and so was Cortana when the man managed to fire several more rounds that barely grazed the shields.

"Something is not right here…this guy is not in the same league as you and the other John, but even though he's nowhere near your level…"

"He's somehow able to keep up with me though barely. Either's he's somehow genetically stronger and faster than a regular person…or he's been augmented or taken some form of combat enhancement drugs."

"Yeah and they possibly could have been made by Cobra…be careful John!"

John had no time to answer Cortana back as he was forced to toss aside his weapon as he was soon trading blows with Anders. The Spartan's fists were powerful and he was no longer holding back, he unleashed bone crushing blows on the leader and the results were obvious. The armor that the man had on was cracking at the impact of his blows and soon the sounds of bones was joining the sounds of broken ceramics.

But despite that, the man was still fighting the Spartan and it was something that John had not expected. Apparently the man's possible augmentations or the drugs he had taken was apparently numbing his body from feeling pain. By all rights, the blows he had inflicted would have either placed a normal person into the ICU for life, or in a pine box, but this one was still able to fight him. The man's Bowie knives grazed on the shields of the MJOLNIR as the sounds of battle were all over the place. The two of them ignored it as the remaining Crimson Bond slavers were going all out to try and kill the forces of Roanapur as well as the Joes who were there. The Spartan's own B. were busy fighting to make sure that the other forces were not going to attack the Spartan and their presence had taken some of the heat from their commander.

John was forced to switch to his own Combat Knife as he and Anders continued to trade blows with one another. And so far despite not being up to the level, the man was able to keep pace with him as they engaged one another with CQC tactics. But he could see and no doubt so did Cortana that the injuries were continuing to pile up and the reaction times of the man were becoming a lot more sluggish by the second. That did not mean that he could relax as Anders was soon attacking.

Another member of the man's elite guard came at the Spartan and this time he was armed with a burst shotgun and fired several shells at John, no doubt to allow his leader to recover. John turned and tossed his Knife right into the man's throat and he dropped dead as John turned rapidly and quickly grabbed Anders' who tried to attack him from behind. He quickly broke the man's arm at the middle of the forearm and grabbed the Bowie Knife that was soon released from the man's grip.

John used it and cut Anders' at the chest with his augmented strength bypassing the man's body armor at a critical area. The man ignored the wound and attacked the Spartan, but the Master Chief could see that the man's mind had apparently snapped. Anders continued his relentless attack despite his now broken right arm, he even tried to charge into the Spartan and despite getting a stab strike in the left thigh followed by a slash at the right arm, he continued to attack.

John decided to up the ante and end this right now before things got even worse, he dodged another stab at his direction and caught the arm and broke it at the elbow in moments. He then followed with a powerful stab with the Bowie Knife in the heart and his strength was more than enough to break through the man's armor and take the heart. He then followed this by moving fast and behind the massive man, he kicked his knees in the back, breaking the bones and ligaments with a loud sound.

As soon as Anders fell to the ground, the Spartan finished him off with his hands around his neck and with one swift motion and with the right amount of force.

SNAP!

Broke his neck, the sound of snapping cartilage and crushed bone was not something one lovbed to hear but there is was. Anders fell dead and no longer got up, Cortana confirmed that the man was indeed dead and John wasted no time and retrieved his discarded MA37 and reloaded it. He logged in with his B. to see what they were able to see and sure enough he was able to see that the Crimson Bond forces were soon losing ground to the forces that were his allies for the time being.

…

Hours later…

The ruins of the Crimson Bond base were still smoking as the forces of Roanapur were now cleaning up the place. John was there and he was not alone as the Joes were there to help him in making sure that all MARs equipment was destroyed along with anything else that would be used by the forces of Roanapur, which was something they did not want. The gangs would have demanded that they leave already but none of them were not going to go against the agreement that Rock had been able to forge with the Spartan and the Joes. They were however allowed to take any salvageable weapons and ammunition that would not be considered as too sensitive.

The rest of the stuff that fell into the off limits category was placed in a section of the base's basement which was soon wired with a large amount of explosives that he had salvaged from the armories of the base. Once that was done, he and the Joes blew it up and when that was out of the way, the Spartan allowed the gangs to take what was left. He had expected them to try and use it on him and the Joes but at least the gangs would honor their agreement to him and that was something that he was happy with and so was Cortana since they were still trying to get what they could from the ruins of the base.

There was a chance that the Crimson Bond would have other enclaves hidden away and he planned to give the information to the Joes and let them deal with it themselves while he headed out. There were still some of their soldiers left but they were soon going to be dealt with, and those who would still be alive but wounded, he would leave their fates to the people of Roanapur. After all it was they who tried to take over the city and use it for their own and the surviving gangs of Roanapur did deserve SOME measure of revenge for what the Crimson Bond had done.

As that was happening Cover Girl was with him and was currently talking to a communications unit and after some time, spoke to him while the two of them were accompanied by his B.A.T units.

"Michelle and her friends have been able to reach the Battle group safe and sound, and the battle group will be moving back in a couple of hours back to the US once we are picked up as well."

"That's good to know, what about the others?"

"Duke and Wet-Suit have managed to bring some of the prisoners with them for an interrogation run while Road-Block, Scarlett and Shipwreck will be here with me for a bit longer to wrap up the rest of the agreement with the gangs of Roanapur."

John nodded and it was here that Cover Girl spoke to him once more.

"By the way, Michelle had sent word that you are to be given safe passage out of Roanapur, the Battle Group is not to intercept you and hinder you and your force in any fashion. Naturally the whole incident is to be kept off the records. Not that I would go against it, and neither will Scarlett and Duke, they agree that it would be better this way, though Wet Suit and Shipwreck were not too happy with it. The only of us who is not negative about it right now is Road-Block was pleased, even wanted to invite you and your men to a barbeque with the rest of us if you decide to join us and be a legitimate force instead of a shadowy PMC."

John nodded in agreement and replied to that.

"I'll take it, I have to thank you for that, I was not in the mood to have to fight the US military and you and your fellow Joes. And I'll keep Road Block's invitation under advisement."

Courtney smiled a bit at that and looked around as the base was now going to be left alone for a very long time once everything that could be of use to the people of the city of Roanapur was taken and used. She wished that this was going to be the end of it, but she doubted that, the knowledge that Cobra was behind the whole kidnapping event, but for what? That was one question that she knew she and the others were going to be working on for a very long time.

…

A day later…

John managed to get himself focused on the end of the mission at hand while he and his BATs were soon being picked up from the area around Roanapur in the Pelican and were now would soon be on their way to dock with the Ghost Eagle. The battle with the suddenly augmented Anders was something of a concern for the Spartan as despite slaying the leader of the Crimson Bond in this side of the world, the discovery of these drugs and temporary enhancements in the man's corpse meant that Cobra was up to something.

Despite the fact that the results of these said enhancements were not favorable, the Master Chief and Cortana knew that this meant that Cobra would no doubt find a way to create their own series of augmented soldiers. Once the process was perfected, then he had no doubt that there would be a new cadre of soldiers that would be fielded by the terrorists and they would then pose a problem. Still the work on Anders was shoddy and not done well, no doubt due to the location and the experimental nature of the whole process.

For now he had to focus on going back to his base in Alaska and do what he could to prepare for the time that he and Cortana would be able to return to their own reality. It was going to take a while but it was going to be the only option that they had. Constructing a ship to house the still intact Slipspace Drive was the first step and then testing it was the second, though he knew that before they got even that far, they needed materials, technology and more. But that could be placed aside as he needed to also take care of his company as well as those who were under his charge.

Roanapur had suffered a lot from the sudden and violent attack of the Crimson Bond forces when they finally gave up trying to remain hidden. And as John turned to look at the city which was still in the process of clean up he could not help but feel a bit conflicted. This place by all rights deserved to be wiped clean of all the corruption and criminality that ruled the streets, but that was not up to him, he had no official authority over the place and as such, any interference on his part would not be wise. After all, he had come there to rescue Michelle Graham and her friends, and he had done that, he had nothing left to gain by fighting the criminal elements that called this place home.

Hotel Moscow had suffered some losses but both Boris and Balalaika had managed to keep that to a low number. And the same could be said for Chang and the Triads, and so far the Church of Violence and Black Lagoon had not been wiped out when they were in the fight. But the other smaller gangs suffered extensive losses, the Albanians, Italians, and the Columbians suffered losses as well and were going to have to recover after some time.

The American Naval Battle Group were already pulling out of the area, having not fired a shot or deployed a single plane, tank, or even a company of Marines to the area since the Joes had brought back Michelle and her friends. This was to the relief of the entire group and they were happy to be escorting both the Joes and Michelle back to the US. The ones in the Joes including Cover Girl were now being given treatment for any injuries they might have gained in their extraction when the Crimson Bond forces finally unleashed themselves on Roanapur in the open.

The Marines did attempt to locate the Spartan and his group but John and his B. were able to avoid detection and that was enough to force them to give up their search. The Joes themselves had tried to locate the Spartan and his allies but they had other priorities so they had to put that plan aside for now and head home.

As the Pelican pulled away and engaged it's stealth mode, the Spartan was still worried about the discoveries he had made. Even when they were not being active, the fact that Cobra had resurrected the Crimson Bond meant that they were still going to cause trouble. And the fact that they had found a way to augment the leader of the Crimson Bond in Roanapur no matter how crude and temporary it was, meant that they were branching out.

Cortana noted that and spoke to him while he flew the Pelican and his B. were in the rear and getting themselves some time to recharge their systems.

"You're still concerned about those things we found on that man's corpse?"

"Yeah, the results were crude and not as advanced as the procedures in both the Spartan I and the Spartan II Programs, but that alone is not good news at all. That means Cobra's stepping up into making a possible augmentation program for it's soldiers."

"True, but I have no doubt that there is going to be a lot of work to finish as well. And I have no doubt that it is still going to be a while before they are able to reach the level of Dr. Halsey's Spartan II Program."

"I know, but I doubt that while they have no idea about the Spartan II Program, they are still going to break ethical boundaries to do it."

Cortana nodded and what they had already learned about Cobra was more than enough to convince the two of them that Cobra was not going to waste any expense to get what they wanted. This was why they would have to step up the program of keeping an eye on Cobra as well as dealing with any new battles that they might start.

It was here also that Cortana asked John if they needed to upgrade the B. as well as begin making new ones to further enhance their forces. It was at this point that she managed to locate something or rather someone who was trying to access the networks and trying to locate her and John. And she had a very good idea just who this person was.

John wondered who that was and Cortana replied.

"Remember the time we had to work with Black Lagoon and the rest of the Roanapur natives along with the Joes when the Crimson Bond made their big move? Benny is trying to locate me and put his skills against me, apparently he wants to see just how good I am."

"Be gentle Cortana…despite his criminal records, he's not that serious a threat to you and me."

"Don't worry John, I'll keep the kid gloves on."

The A.I snickered at that and John couldn't help but feel some level of sympathy for Benny as apparently, the gifted hacker had NO idea just what he had started with Cortana.

…

In Roanapur…

Revy was not in the best of moods but at least she was asleep at the moment and not tearing through the place. She was so exhausted by what was the longest fight of her life and still reeling from the things she had seen that she had decided to drink herself to a stupor and the massive number of bottles there were an indication of how far she had gone.

Rock himself had to join her but thankfully he was not out cold as he shook his head a bit as he recalled what had happened. The battle that happened days before had practically made the damage done by Roberta long ago look like a flooding incident to a tornado impact. Roanapur looked like a warzone as Crimson Bond had REALLY hit the place hard and there were going to be a whole slew of funerals and repairs, and he had no doubt that it was going to be a VERY long time before the gangs recovered.

Dutch looked at him and spoke as he grabbed his own beer and sat down next to Rock.

"You okay Rock?"

"Yeah…what happened days ago Dutch, I think I am going to be having nightmares of it."

"Yeah…I agree, the things I saw made just about everything I've seen already appear more acceptable. I may have been in many battles, but never like that…and with that much at stake. I'm amazed the only thing I got away with is a few broken bones and a few cuts."

Rock knew that Dutch was not kidding, his African American boss had his chest and torso wrapped in bandages along with a number of bandages and patches on his body. He also knew that even Revy was lucky as the battle had pushed her to her very own limits even though she would never admit it and the wounds she had were not too bad but it pissed her off royally to even have them. Fighting the riff raff that came to Roanapur as well as the ones it had in it already was normal to her and the others, but the Crimson Bond forces were definitely a cut above the rest, and she was not happy that she was not able to fight the Spartan and his forces when they showed up since he stopped her.

He was lucky and managed to avoid being killed since the whole war started, and the American battle group had not even made it there yet when it happened. And for that he was happy, as he had already learned early on since he stayed in Roanapur to count every tiny blessing that he could get his hands on.

"I know…I guess we can thank the fact that everyone worked together on this once they knew what was at stake. Eda managed to get to that battle-group to halt a possible bombing assault that could have killed all of us. Balalaika and Boris were able to get their forces together, and along with Chang and Shenhua, and even the other minor gangs and groups got together to deal with the Crimson Bond along with the police for what they were worth."

Dutch nodded at that.

"Hell yeah…but we have to thank the Joes for that and that Spartan and his fellow soldiers or Spartans or whatever they were called. Never thought I'd see the Joes in action, I used to think I wouldn't make a half bad Joe myself if I joined them when they were recruiting back in the day before I cut ties and came here, seeing them in action was worth it. I got to tell you Rock, I've seen some crazy gear in my day…but man, that Leonidas guy, he's got some seriously wicked shit. At least he was using it on those Crimson Bond fuckers instead of us, and while I doubt he'd loan us any of them I have to say I wished I could have handled that Shotgun or that Assault Rifle he and his gang had with them. At least he listened to you when you asked to talk to him about helping us all out."

"Yeah…but I got to say it was a hard act…I knew next to nothing about him so I was just hoping I could find something that could help me in convincing him to help everyone here. I felt that had things been different…"

"He would have wasted us? Yeah I read the same thing, that guy screams soldier in twenty different volume settings. And considering where we are from, he had every right to leave once he and the Joes did their part, I am even amazed he was willing to even be here. But at least we know he was here for the President's daughter and her friends and not after us."

"Amen to that…you think we'll see them…"

Dutch shook his head and replied.

"No thank you Rock, I sure don't want to meet that guy again, his crew, and his female buddy even if it's on good or neutral terms. That guy screams danger to me…besides I sure hope he and Revy don't meet again…I am not in the mood for that kind of shit-storm in my face."

Revy groaned and spoke out as she looked at the two.

"Fuck that…I could have taken him…even with all that fancy crap he pulled and those dickhead mimes in armor he worked with."

"You still want to take him on AFTER he SWATTED aside one Stinger missile and then GRABBED the other Stinger missile in MID-AIR and then tossed it BACK to the shooter? No way Revy, leave that dude alone, if he shows up, I don't care what I have to do or say…you say away from him, let Rock deal with him and his guys and lady friend."

Revy looked at Dutch and saw her boss was dead serious and even though she was so drunk she would have put a whole ship full of drunk sailors to shame right now she was not that dense. She swore and replied.

"Fuck…fine, I'll stay away from him and let Rocky here deal with him and his buddies. But if he and his group even looks at me wrong…then all bets are off."

Rock shrugged and replied.

"How can you even tell he's looking at you Revy? I can't tell anything and neither could anyone else with that visor he had on. And those guys he was with, his gang…I don't know why but there's something wrong with them."

Revy snorted as she grabbed a still cold beer and drank it, once she was done, she replied.

"Nothing but a pack of tight-asses…don't even have the decency to say anything and even drink."

Rock shook his head and replied to that.

"That's not what I meant…I…don't know why, but they didn't seem or feel…human to me."

Before either Dutch of Revy could reply to that statement from the former Japanese salaryman, their train of conversation was derailed when a loud shout came from Benny, the only one of them who didn't drink at the time as he was busy one something else.

"NOOOOO! SON A BITCH!"

The shout was heard all over the Black Lagoon Company building and that had been enough to make Dutch, and Rock turn to the corner where Benny was. Rock who was not drunk at all at the moment managed to get himself up and head over to Benny's spot to find out what had gotten Benny in an uproar. He got to see the hacker looking like…well…he had been…proverbially screwed over…by a factor of ten or twenty, Rock couldn't tell which due to being drunk. But he was not too drunk to not notice Benny's reaction as he spoke.

"Benny, what's going on?"

"My…my computer's been infected by a damn worm!"

"So? You've dealt with worms before right?"

"Not like this! It's eating ALL the data and giving me crap and it's spreading! It's spreading Rock, and my firewalls ain't doing dick against it! I'm going to lose everything! All the videos and records and those message from my honey!"

Revy shouted out at Benny as she glared at the Jewish hacker as his ranting was making her serious headache that made her feel like her head was being sent into a washing machine.

"Shut the fuck up Benny! Or I'll make you lose MORE than just your stack of computer porn and those videos of that nymphomaniac of a girlfriend of yours!"

Rock was quick to hold Revy before she did that and spoke in trying to restrain the woman. This was risky in many ways since Revy was NOT the kind of lady to let anyone touch her like he was touching now but he had gotten used to it and he had to do it or else she could really hurt Benny and do a heck of a lot more as well.

"Stop that Revy right now!"

Revy struggled a bit more before seemingly passing out and that was to Rock's relief just as Dutch arrived to see what the hell all the noise was about.

"You care to tell me why you're shitting up a storm Benny-boy?"

Benny did not respond as he was fighting a losing battle against whatever or whoever it was who had just bypassed his defenses like they were nothing. And now all of the files and documents, videos and the like that he took great care to have were being corrupted and destroyed right before his eyes and it was not something he wanted to see at all. But no matter how many programs he cooked up to try and fight this worm or the special firewalls he had made, they didn't manage to do anything at all to stop the damage.

Dutch and Rock couldn't help but look with some level of confusion and shock as they now realized that Benny was being overwhelmed by whoever had hacked into the system. Benny's desperation was obvious as he was now swearing in Jewish and spewing obscenities that one would not have expected from the man.

But all his curses and prayers were for nothing as his computer was now about to be purged, and he knew that the others were also being purged as he tried to fight it. Dutch then spoke to Benny as he wanted to know just what the hell was going on.

"Benny-boy, what the fucking hell is happening here?"

"I don't know! I was trying to locate that Spartan and his partner so at least we KNOW something or anything of that guy but now…"

Benny couldn't help but watch helplessly as more and more of his files were being wiped out and he saw that the other computers were also affected. His banks of computers that he treated like his own children were now screaming in electronic pain as warnings of viral infections, data corruption, and more were all over the place. It was utter torture for the hacker as he tried desperately to save his machines from the horrible fate that was soon to come. But his efforts seemed worthless as more and more of the files were being destroyed and the results when he looked at the scans were shocking.

Even all the backup files were being purged or filled with so many bugs that even reformatting the computers was not going to save them all.

Dutch and Rock could do nothing as they witnessed the computer carnage before the two of them as the hacker was being cut down. They all knew that Benny was the best hacker they had but whoever this was that was tearing him down was better than he was. As it seemed that everything was lost for their friend and he looked like he was going to finally lose and break down…the whole process stopped.

The three men were stunned as the alarms came down and the computers seemed frozen in place, their screens seemed to be blank, no signs of any activity…nothing.

Benny commented as he finally managed to get his voice.

"What the…hell just happened?"

It was then that a familiar voice came on the speakers.

"Hi there…like my grand entrance?"

The three looked to see the image of the UNSC on the screen of Benny's computer…but there was no wording on it and it seemed to be a bit stylized. It was here that a set of female lips appeared along with two glowing blue eyes with the lips underneath the Eagle and Globe while the eyes were on either side.

Rock then spoke.

"Who are you?"

" Who am I? You should recognize me Rock…"

Rock scratched his head a bit and then he recalled despite his drunken state the voice.

"You're the one who was the Spartan Leonidas's partner…the one they called Gorgo."

"Who happened to be the Spartan King Leonidas's wife in Greek history, now me and the Leonidas you met are not married or anything, but he and I are partners. I detected someone from your sector trying to find anything about me and Leonidas…I tracked you down and decided to…shall we say, play a game with you."

"You…You…you crazy…"

The eyes glowed blood red and the voice became harsher.

"Call me a bitch Benny and I WILL personally make your life a living nightmare…one so bad that what I just did to your precious PCs will be like a gentle dream. That was just a warning to stay the hell away from me and Spartan Company, period. You might have hacked into the FBI's database but that's chump change compared to what I can do. I know that you think you can match skills with me…but as you can see…I can do a hell of a lot worse than you."

Benny gulped a bit and Rock then spoke.

"Please Miss Gorgo, don't do this."

The eyes lost their deep red glow and they seemed almost…motherly as they looked at Rock.

"Ever the diplomat Rock, I happen to know who you are since I can see what Leonidas sees, and truth be told, I like you, you're the only civilian I know who had the guts to face Leonidas and convince him to not pepper you full of lead. If he trusts you then I will be nice to you…so I will do as you ask, the files and everything will be returned to you and your computers will not be harmed. But I am only going to do this once and once only."

The eyes then looked at Benny and they became hard and cold as eyes and the lips became hard and were in the way of a snarl.

"But if I ever catch you trying ti sneak around and look where you're s not supposed to…I will make sure to make your life so miserable that being thrown into a super maximum prison and be there for life with all the prisoners who have turned…predator will seem like a paradise…do I make myself clear?"

Benny nodded but he gritted his teeth while doing so, the images faded and true to her word, Gorga left and in moments all the computers seemed to be going back to normal. Benny checked ALL the files and programs and found that all of them were fine and were fully intact…much to his now thick and heavy relief.

Dutch sighed and took another drink and replied.

"Dodged another one yet again…man, Rock, remind me to give you a raise for all the hell we've been able to survive thanks to you, I am getting to fucking old for this shit."

…

With that out of the way, John and Cortana were now in the process of trying to figure out just what was Cobra intending to do with the samples that they had gotten from Michelle. Whatever it was, there was no doubt in his mind that it was not going to be good news.

And they were right…

…

Four days later…

President Andrew Graham was currently in the White House and was in a very strange meeting with the members of his Cabinet. He normally should have been elated to know that his eldest daughter and her friends had been rescued from that hell hole Roanapur, and were in the Battle Group and were now in the process of going home. He had announced it to the media several days after the delicate talks with the majority of the Asian leaders had finally worked yet the use of military force had been averted, thanks to the Joes who had taken a huge risk to their organization's reputation by going in without express permission to attempt a rescue.

And while he had no love whatsoever of the residents of criminals and terrorists who had called that place home, he was pleased that the use of military force on the people who were not criminals in that place was avoided. He also should have been pleased that the Crimson Bond forces responsible for the kidnapping had been dealt with and information of their operations in the world were now in the hands of his trusted officials for them to track them down and end them once and for all.

By all rights, the man should have felt more than elation, but he had reason…recently, only after his announcement to the media, he has been informed that a number of highly sensitive government program files had been…taken from a secret R&D facility that was jointly run by DARPA, the CIA, and the NSA. The facility however was NOT attacked but had been visited by him of all people, and while he did have…some memory of him visiting the place, he could not figure out the rest.

"Are you sure that I was indeed at that facility General Ward?"

General Kyle Terrance Ward was currently the head of the Marine Corps nodded.

"Absolutely sir, the records in the Ice Box as it's called had indeed listed you as a visitor in the base, along with your regular Secret Service security detail."

"Barry, was I indeed the one who pulled those files from the main server and no one else had access to the Ice Box's mainframe?"

Director Jeffery 'Barry' Sinclair Barton, head of DARPA nodded as well.

"Yes sir, your DNA and retinal signature was indeed verified as authentic and recorded in the database. And the Ice Box's mainframe is a stand alone system with absolutely no outside access. I must ask something Mr. President, why are you asking about something you already have done."

Andrew frowned and replied.

"I don't really know…I just have these…hazy memories of what I was doing there…yet it felt wrong somehow."

The officials looked at one another and Secretary of State Karen Winston then spoke gently.

"Mr. President, I do not mean to sound negative, but maybe the two day celebration that you had with your family when you all received word that Michelle and her friends were saved and going home might have somehow been affecting your memory. You did take a two day break in your residence after all before you returned here to the White house."

The other staffers and officials looked at Karen and so did Andrew, he had been under some stress lately and while he had managed to handle it, he had suffered some bouts of sleeplessness and had taken some drinks to deal with it, not enough to make him completely drunk, but enough to at least put his mind at ease to some degree. He had managed to deal with the discussions without any problems but when he had received word of the rescue of his daughter and her friends, he had 'cut loose' and had a rather festive celebration back home.

He had slept in for at least two days afterwards and it was a day afterwards that he had these memories of doing what he had been told he had done.

"Maybe….I do not know, I want to see if those files are still in my possession, get to that at once. If they are still there, then maybe I was just suffering from the aftereffects of that party."

It was not long before the files were indeed found and had not been opened at all. That had been enough for Andrew to finally relax concerning the matter as he focused on welcoming his daughter and her friends back after all that they had been through. There was no doubt going to be another party, and this time, it was going to be a safe one, he was not going to let what happened before happen again.

Andrew Graham and his family had no idea that Michelle's kidnapping and the retrieval of some of her blood had something to do with his rather hazy memories.

…

A hidden Cobra Base...

Doctor Mindbender looked at the data filled discs with a smile of satisfaction and turned to speak to the one who had handed them to him.

"Thank you for retrieving these files for us, I am sure that you have done Cobra a great service…President Andrew Graham."

It was indeed the President who smiled back and replied to Doctor Mindbender's praise.

"Thank you Master, I am hopeful that Cobra will benefit from what I have been able to do."

The scientist nodded warmly at that.

"We shall, and now I believe that it is time we bid our farewells, your time is almost up."

"Yes Doctor."

"For Cobra!"

"For Cobra….!"

It was at that point that President Graham stopped and suddenly fell to his knees and soon was on his face and lay absolutely still. Doctor Mindbender moved over to check the man's pulse as well as his breathing, he even placed a portable scanner to the man's head to check for any brain activity. Finding none whatsoever that indicated that the President was still alive, he smiled as he looked at his watch.

"Dead at exactly 10:30 AM, right on the day we created him, two days after he announced his precious daughter's rescued status to the world and had that lovely celebration in his home…or rather the real President's home."

He turned then to some of the assistants in his lab and pointed to the corpse of what was a clone of the president.

"Dispose of this clone and destroy the samples of Michelle Graham's blood, it has done it's purpose."

"Yes Doctor."

As the assistants began to take away the body, it was here that Cobra Commander, Destro, the Baroness, and Zartan arrived into the lab. Cobra Commander then spoke to Dr. Mindbender as he looked at the clone that was soon going to be disposed of.

"I take it that the mission was successful?"

Dr. Mindbender nodded with a smile.

"Yes, the clone we made has indeed gained the files and soon we can use the files for out very own means."

"Will the President suspect anything?"

"Not at all Commander, my scientists and I have managed to implant the false memories into the dear President's mind well enough to make it seem that he had indeed acquired those files. We have left behind exact copies of the files with the real President and these have not been compromised to serve as a way to throw off any suspicions. Once the files are found then he will suspect that the memories were nothing but his own though distorted by his celebration with his family and friends for the rescue of his daughter which will take effect once he is in the White house after a few hours."

Destro nodded and spoke once more.

"What about the results from our operation in Roanapur and our…allies the Crimson Bond?"

"The operation was a success, though as we already know they have been dealt with by the gangs of Roanapur and by the Joes, and no doubt the Spartan and his force. But that is to be expected, what we really needed…apart from the blood samples from Michelle Graham were the results from the enhancements I have done on Anders."

Dr. Mindbender turned to a nearby computer and activated the files and sure enough it revealed the form of Anders himself and there were the exact placements of the augmentations that John and Cortana had found on the man's body when it was taken to autopsy.

"Our agents in Roanapur were able to get access to Ander's corpse and remove the special recorder that we had secretly implanted into his cortex. The files that were stored there will be the key to see how the prototypes of the augmentations and combat enhancement drug treatments had performed. Once that was retrieved, we destroyed it and we have made sure that the ones holding the body have bee justly compensated to keep them silent."

"How were the results?"

"They were not too effective when Commander Anders faced the Spartan, but that is to be expected since they were in the testing phase. But against the Triads and Hotel Moscow forces…the augmentations were more than able to hold their own. The results will allow my scientists and I to begin working on a more perfected version of our own augmentations. The progress will not be quick as this is the first time that we have attempted to create biological augmentations for soldiers. The progress will be made easier with the files our clone has acquired of course and when they are ready…this fusion of our technology and the augmentations that may be created will allow us to create a number of new soldiers. The Joes are going to be in for a surprise once we strike back Commander and our new soldiers will be more than a match even for them. All we need is more time and more distractions to keep them and even the Spartan from interfering with our plans."

Zartan was the next to speak.

"Hard to believe that you were able to create a clone of the President using the blood of his own daughter. If I actually cared for the details, I would have found the whole situation very disturbing."

Dr. Mindbender replied to that.

"It was not easy as we had to manipulate the genome quite intensely in order to make the DNA of the clone that of a male and to grow it to full adult size as well as make it an exact copy of the President down to every detail, even the way he smelled. The extra funding we gained from our…downsizing of the organization allowed us to have more resources, manpower, equipment, and time to do such a thing once we got the samples fresh from dear Michelle. The downside to the enhanced growth rate and intense manipulation means that the clone was subject to die at least four days after it was created."

"Once we were able to create our President, we watched the President's party in his residence, once we had the chance to move in, we made sure to take his official clothes and our agents being properly disguised to take the place of the man's actual Secret Service details. Once we have accomplished our objectives, we took the memories of our clone who has been able to avoid seeing anything that would have muddled the false imprints. After processing the memories we recovered from our clone's own brain and imprint it into our president's brain thanks to a special psychic device I have been working on."

"The process was long and difficult, but we timed just right that when the second day was over and our president woke up from his sleep, the memories were implanted into his own mind. The command for the memories to take effect was when he entered the White House, and while there would be some residual problems, the timing will clear it all up."

Cobra Commander nodded and he as well as the others looked at the files as it was soon being unlocked and now free for them to use.

Destro smiled and replied.

"The Vipers will now be ready for their training and conditioning as well as being given access to our new equipment. We have already set up covert bases in several key areas of the world and these will be able to train the new forces as well as keep them from being detected. We also have begun to use even mobile bases to make sure that more…sensitive projects are kept off the grid and under civilian cover. The Twins are already at work for that aspect of our restructuring."

Cobra Commander nodded and smiled underneath his hood as he spoke.

"And Cobra will rise again, stronger than ever before…until that time comes however, we have more brush fires to start to keep the Joes occupied. Zartan, do you have any ideas in which to contribute to the operation?"

Zartan gave a sinister smile and replied to that exact question.

"I have a few Cobra Commander, but like anything else, they will not be cheap by any stretch of the imagination."

"We can deal with that well enough, money will not be a concern and the surplus weapons and equipment should be more than enough as capital. Get the best and the worst that you can find Zartan, pick the right target and you as well as the Dreadnoks shall indeed be paid handsomely."

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Finished! Man, I am pleased to finally have this chapter over and done with so I can take a break and rest for a good while. I deserve that for all the things I had to deal with for the past few months ever since having to move out of my own home due to demolition work.

Well, at least this short story arc is now officially over and done with and now I can work on the new ideas for it once I defrost it with my other stories that have Halo as the base. Now in this case, there will be a number of things I will be working on in the next series of chapters. The first is a chapter that will deal with John being more social and meeting with the Joes. This time it will not just be with Cover Girl as I plan to have him meet the other Joes, who they are will be up to me.

The second is a chapter which will focus on the creation of Cobra's all new force, this will mean that the chapter will be the focus on how the terrorists will be better and more capable for battle. This will not yet be seen by the Joes and even Cortana and John will be somewhat in the dark. Of course, there will be no doubt that Cobra Commander and his officers will also do their best to make their foes look elsewhere so they will begin sparking more wars.

The other chapters that will follow once I thaw this story after updating my other works will be a mix of the themes and there will be scenes of John as well as Cortana already working on their way home to boot. So in the mean time, there will not be any sign of Cobra just yet in the public but at least it will be for a reason.

…

If you managed to figure it out after reading the chapters once again, then congratulations to you for making sense of what was the true reason for Cobra to support the Crimson Bond Society. But for those who do not get it then let me put it this way.

The reason that Cobra supported and supplied the Crimson Bond Society and provide them with the information to kidnap Michelle, was to acquire a few blood samples from her. These blood samples were then used to create a clone of Michelle's father, the clone had been given accelerated growth to make it a fully grown being that is an exact duplicate for Michelle's father through intense DNA manipulation.

And it was scheduled to be released from the vat when the announcement of Michelle's freedom and when the President was having his private celebration as it was going to die after four days. Once that was done, the clone was used to infiltrate the Ice Box and get the vital files to further the plans of Cobra in it's restructuring of their forces, and it's exact match to President Graham allowed it to do so unimpeded. Once that was completed, the clone's specially controlled memories are extracted and then made into imprints that is used to be implanted into the President's own memories through a special device and by Mindbender's help.

(Think of the same device used in the movie of Seventh Day, only instead of recalling or recovering memories from a person's brain, this device places memories into the person's brain and those 'false' memories are soon accepted by the brain as the real deal though there is some degree of confusion there in the brain as it processes those false memories.)

These memories were made to be active once the President was in the White House and due to the celebration that Andrew had been in, it helped in masking the true origin of the memories that he had and the copied and unopened files add more weight to the whole story. Once that was done, the clone delivered the files and as soon as that happened at the fourth day, it died and was incinerated away…leaving no trace of it's existence and Michelle's blood samples were destroyed. So no one is the wiser on what was it that Cobra had done in the background.

And while this was going on, they were able to use the Crimson Bond to test their own special prototype augmentations previously, and what better place to test it than in Roanapur due to the massive number of live fire targets for the augmentations to be tested in good conditions. The end result was that the whole kidnapping was an elaborate move to acquire confidential government files and testing prototype augmentations, which could very well be used for their very own forces in the near future.

This whole idea might seem bogus for some readers, but hear me out first before I start getting messages and reviews that questioned this. First off, Cobra has created some very interesting technologies that were surprising for me when I watched it when I was still younger. Cobra had indeed created synthoids, the Viper soldiers, Mara the 'failed' amphibious commando, airborne flying carriers, and of course Serpentor himself. This tells me that they are very much capable once they have the reason to improve, and develop new technology that can be used for their needs and plans.

Besides, these things could very well be the foundation on how Serpentor will eventually be born…and I have something interesting in mind for that genetically created leader of Cobra who takes over Cobra Commander's spot in the future. Let's just say that this will make John even more serious in his efforts to keep Cobra off balance and take out as much of them as he and Cortana could manage.

I also have plans for the said character Mara, the very same woman who we know is the one in the cartoon series who Shipwreck falls in love with. I cannot go any further on what my plans are for Mara, but what I can say is that she will be given a place in the world, quite possibly working with John and Cortana as part of their own group.

How she will be introduced will be the same to some extent, but I will be sure to show just how she will be part of the Spartan's group and become part of their force. John and Cortana will be able to help her to some degree so there is a chance that she and Shipwreck will meet again.

Will they be able to live together in happiness and not in some lie like what happened with that mission that had Lady Jaye and Shipwreck rescue a certain crackpot of a scientist…hold it…I am saying to bloody much already!

Damn it…never mind, that is the truth and I hope that this will be able to show the true plot in this arc that involved the anime of Black Lagoon.

…

Some of you have complained on why I included the cast of Black Lagoon in a story which should just be on Cobra, the G.I Joes, and the Master Chief as well as Cortana, and I understand your opinions. But I have to state that in order for me to show how Cobra will evolve into a more serious force, I have to create situations where the Joes as well as the Master Chief and Cortana will not be able to monitor them and the best way to do just that is to start brush fire wars.

This might be the only time I will use an anime though I will not hold my breath on that matter just yet so there will be other organizations that Cobra will use to make brush fire wars. That will also include criminal elements and forces as well and in different countries so this trip to Roanapur will not be the last that John and Cortana will have to deal with.

…

Benny certainly got served huh? Not too brutally I hope, but I figured it would be all right. If not then I will have to work on it when I do a mandatory correction run on all my fics. It is not going to be the least bit easy, but then again, there is nothing more fun that taking a challenge when doing a story.

…

As par several suggestions, I plan to expand the B. to give them a greater deal of flexibility and function so they will not just be robotic backup. What those other options and functions are will still be under wraps and I will not budge on the matter either so don't ask me about them. Feel free to come up with your own interpretations and ideas but if you have suggestions then forward them to me and I will see if I can use them in this story of mine.

…

Now on the question of the relationship between Cover Girl and John-117, she will do her own research but you can bet that Cortana will be working to keep John's electronic files clean. That will not mean however that she will not give up in trying to figure out the truth behind John though it will not be in a bad way. As time passes the two of them will interact with one another and there will be time to build bridges as it were. Naturally when she finally learns the truth about John's origins and plans to leave once he finds a way to go back to his world, she will be confused and somewhat angry, as one would expect to some degree, but after some time learning about the Spartan and his life, she might very well change her tone somewhat.

One can imagine what her reaction will be to meeting Cortana herself as well as she does understand that she is looking at an A.I from the future.

Naturally she might decide to keep John and Cortana's secret and show that they can trust her with their mission and identity. But that will also mean that she will have to be their liaison to the Joes once they agree to be on speaking terms with her group. And in a sense this will be the key to how the rest of the Joes will see the Master Chief as well as Cortana.

If you plan to ask me if there is a lemon in the near future of fanfic, then the answer is a resounding yes. But that lemon is going to be after a very long series of one episode chapters and also some other works that have to be dealt with.

See you all soon!


	16. Preview

Preview:

Sorry for those who are expecting a surprise chapter in G.I Joe Halo, but this is merely a preview if you will for what is to come once I get back to working on my Halo stories.

This is what everyone should expect once I get working on the next chapter of this fic, and like before, it's merely to help Cobra get better and stronger. This way it should be interesting to see what Cobra will be like when they return.

Now I'm not sure where in the series I saw this, but there was a time that Storm Shadow actually acquired Excalibur and used it unleash havoc on his enemies. Not to mention that episode that dealt with Cobra stealing the DNA of a certain prince in Transylvania who had a VERY unhealthy obsession with impaling his foes. Not to mention a few other episodes that dealt with the occult and a few other things that made me wonder just how that happened.

This has got me to thinking of making the next chapter dedicated to Cobra trying their hands at tampering with the occult. Odd ball to be sure, but it should be fun, and that means that I am crossing in a new addition for the next chapter.

And before you ask, no, this is not dealing with vampires in the least, and therefore, no, there will be no mention of Hellsing on the next chapter…however, I already have a certain someone in mind.

…

Trailer:

John looked over the file and could not help but shake his head while being accompanied by several BATs wearing Marine BDUs with the usual collection of weapons as before. They were currently moving to another key location in South America. Only this time, they were to prevent a new group causing a serious mess there.

"So let me see if I get this right, we need to get into contact with her?"

Cortana appeared and nodded.

"She's the foremost expert in anything to do with archaeology and also with occult artifacts and she happens to have quite the resume to boot."

"I know, served as an adventurer, mercenary, treasure hunter, explorer, had a stint of running away from the law due to a serious of murders aimed at her. She has exceptional athletic skills, marksmanship, driving skills, skilled in hand to hand combat, weapons and tactics skills, and a load of other talents. If she was born in our reality, she'd make a fine Spartan despite the issues with the upper levels of society."

Cortana nodded.

"Add to that, she was a former member of British royalty and despite being disowned, as it were, she still has contacts with the royal houses and possesses still strong contacts in the military and intelligence community, as well as other shall we say, shadier individuals. And she makes her fortune by selling travel books along with her earnings in her well known work."

The Spartan sighed a bit and replied.

"So I am going to need her help in stopping our latest crisis, kind of hard to be working with someone like her, even though she is not in any way an enemy."

"True…but we need her help to stop those new nuts causing all sorts of havoc, and what better way to stop some new threat coming from beyond a tomb…than getting an Tomb Raider to help us?"

…

End of trailer…

You read it right, so I hope that this will make you happy for the chapter to come.

And I assure you that it will arrive soon.

Also, will this mean that I will do a Halo/Tomb Raider Crossover in the future? Maybe, I have to admit that while I love Lara Croft and her adventures, it's been a long time since I cracked open a website that dealt with Lady Croft, and I don't know if I have the time, or the ability to do that sort of crossover. I was offered that as a challenge and I will be thinking about it and decided to do this for now. Remember that both Lara Croft and John-117 are icons in their respective worlds, both positive and negative, so it will be hard to make them work together due to their contrasting personalities and origins. Not to mention it will be hard to try to keep them working as one due to their respective skills and abilities.

Still, the idea has merits, and who am I to turn down a delicious idea of a challenge like this?

See you all soon!


	17. Chapter 17

G.I Joe Halo

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to G.I Joe or Halo, so I don't make money of out of this…shame really.

Chapter 15

The Templars…

( ): Thoughts

…

In Reach Montana…

"3…2…1!"

BOOM!

The cheers that followed came from the employees of Halsey Pharmaceuticals as they were taking to celebrating their anniversary of their founding. The staff form all departments were there along with their families and it was a very happy but also reserved atmosphere as they also took the time to honor and remember those of their fellow employees who were killed in Cobra's attack on them. They were not alone as well as the townspeople were there with them, and they should be for this too would be the day of the founding of their home town

The large field was now hosting several large tents and inside the said tents were tables filled to the brim with good food and drink as everyone in the town pitched in to make this occasion truly one to remember

John mentally sighed and gave his speech to the people he trusted to run the company and keep it safe. They deserved that much at least and for them, this day was cause for celebration for all their hard work and sacrifices.

"It has already been a year and eight months since the founding of our company and the establishment of our town of Reach. And I am proud of what we have accomplished this day, we have done much to not only help develop new ways to heal our fellows all over the country and the world, but we have left our mark in history, whether it is small or large. When my adopted mother took me in after my parents died, she told me that we shou8ld never forget that we have but one life and we must live that life well. And she was right in that regard for we all have lived good lives and have made the most of what we have and what we gained with our own hands

John turned to look at the people of the town of Reach and noted several new faces, none of whom were from Reach, but were not enemies either. It was Cover Girl, Wet Suit, Duke, Road Block, Lady Jaye, Scarlett, and Flint. He gave them a smile and a salute as he spoke to the townspeople again.

"And we must also pay respects to the members of G.I Joe for their support in protecting our fellow workers and townspeople in that dark time. They are here now and we should not hesitate to show them the hospitality that they rightfully deserve."

The town's people, employees and their families all cheered the Joes and the Joes were happy for the praise they got. And the party was soon underway as the people of Reach Montana got their celebration underway. There was a lot of food, and drink, as well as parlor games, music, and dancing, all of that might have been expensive but all worth it in John's mind as these, in John's mind would help bring a good mood to all the people.

Besides, it began to do his heart good to know that they were all happy and care free even though there was some security out in the field to keep things in order. He also knew that the Joes were here to no doubt catch up on what they had tried to do before.

…

Later…

John was currently sitting on a nearby portable bench which thankfully did not break under his weight as it was custom made by him to handle his weight which was a lot easier since he was not in his MJOLNIR. Before him were Duke, Cover Girl, Wet Suit, Road Block, Scarlett, Lady Jaye, and Flint and they were there to ask if the surgery to help Snake Eyes was still going to work, he had expected them to come in at some point and he was willing to get things underway.

Cloning a new set of vocal cords for their comrade Snake Eyes was not too hard a job for him and the company as they had made good strides in that regard. All that was due to his staff of highly skilled and personally selected workers and the data that they had from Flash Cloning which served to build some of the foundations for their work in growing new organs for patients and even limbs to a level.

"All right, I believe we can have your friend Snake Eyes' surgery when he is willing to take it."

Duke then spoke.

"How do you plan to do the surgery?"

"We will need to gain several samples of his blood and we can use it to clone the organs he needs. Once we have done the basic tests which will include seeing if his body will not undergo the process known as tissue rejection, we can begin the process."

Lady Jaye then spoke to him as she was also interested to see how the process would go, though in her case, she was curious on how it would be after the whole process.

"How long will it take for Snake Eyes to recover?"

"That depends on a few things, namely on the extent of the injuries he had suffered from before, but considering his profession and medical records, he should be able to recover in at least five days. Mind you he will need to go back into speech therapy in order to develop his voice as having not spoken for years due to the injury might have stunted his ability to form words and sentences. It's similar to a patient who had been blind for nearly all of his life being given sight again so Snake Eyes will need to learn how to speak again bit by bit."

The Joes were a bit sad at that but they were willing to accept the limitations there before them when it concerned Snake Eyes' recovery and chance to speak again. Wet Suit then spoke next as there was something that he felt that they would have to deal with.

"How much will the surgery cost?"

John knew that they had more than ample reason to ask, but he felt that he had to thank them for what they had done when Cobra attacked the town and his company to get the data.

"For what your group did for my people here, the surgery will be free of charge and Snake Eyes will be given all the support and speech therapy he will need. All of that will also be free of charge so there is nothing for the Joes to worry about so there is no need for you to pool any money to pay for your friend's recovery."

That surprised the Joes a great deal, even more so since they felt that they should not take advantage of the man. Flint was the first to speak concerning the decision that John had just made pertaining to the surgery for his fellow Joe.

"Are you sure about that Mr. Mendez? Not that we're against the offer or anything since it is truly a good thing you are offering us, but isn't it kind of expensive for your company to allow such procedures free of charge?"

"No one can place a price on kindness, your people risked your lives to help protect the people of my company, and if helping your friend recover his ability to speak is the best way to show my thanks, then I will do it. Money can be obtained, but the ability to speak is something that should not be ignored. I will make sure that every procedure is done by the best doctors and professionals that are within my company."

Cover Girl smiled the most as she felt happy that John was willing to go this far for them and she spoke to him in a very pleased manner.

"You're really a good man Mr. Mendez, and we're not going to forget it for a while. And I have no doubt that Snake Eyes himself will also appreciate what you are doing for him."

John gave a slight but very genuine smile and replied.

"You are quite welcome Miss Krueger. Now let's go back and enjoy the rest of the party before you all will be called back to base to deal with any new threat that might come up."

…

It was a good affair and John was pleased with the results, but he was surprised when Cover Girl asked permission to be his dance partner when he was asked to dance in the ending of the party. John was not going to say no since he had to do his part, thankfully he was able to get the gist of how to dance and Courtney was more than willing to help him out on the moment he was going to make a mistake in the dance steps. Once it was over, John was now given the chance to be on his own and took a walk to a hill and see the rest of the town, but he was not alone in his movements as Cover Girl was with him.

He did not mind as he had a level of respect for the former model as she proved herself to be a more than skilled and talented soldier. There was also the fact that she had willingly stood by him when the Baroness had tried to kidnap him for their means, plans and needs. And truth be told, he could not help but feel something when he was with Cover Girl, which began when she became his escort in that social function that he had to attend months before. As the two of them sat there, the Spartan decided to look at Courtney as she cradled a glass of lemonade in her hand and enjoyed the feel of the cool breeze on her face and hair. The woman was attractive by any means and thoughts, no doubt due to her life as a former model, but even though she lost a slight portion of the beauty due to her life as a Joe, she still had the looks and the figure; at least that was what some people would say.

As they looked over the place, Cover Girl took the time to look at John and see what was on his mind, it was just something that she did out of curiosity.

"Are you sill thinking about what happened a few months ago Mr. Mendez?"

"Somewhat, I have already accepted the fact that those good people on my staff are not coming back, and I have done my best…to make sure that their families are well taken care of. But that does not mean that I will forget what happened."

Courtney nodded in agreement and she was hoping that then they had a chance, they would be able to get Cobra for the attack on the people of Reach.

John took the time to think about what had happened when Cobra went dark, he had a feeling that what they had done using the Crimson Bond as allies or expendable forces was for a reason. And he aimed to find out just what that reason was. But that was going to have to wait since they had been very silent for some time and considering his experiences and training, that was not a good thing.

Courtney once again spoke to the man as she was not aware of the exact direction of his thoughts.

"We'll make sure that what they did will not go unpunished Mr. Mendez, and we'll make sure that we will be thanking you for helping Snake Eyes."

John nodded and smiled a bit, though unlike most of his smiles, his was a bit more genuine, which was actually surprising to him. Most of his smiles to the public outside of Reach, Montana were usually for publicity work, but with Cover Girl, it felt more…natural in a way. John wondered about that feeling for a moment or two before deciding shelve that aside and focus on enjoying the moment of peace. There was no telling if and when he was going to be dragged back into battle again.

…

In the main base a few days later…

John was busy doing a lot of work on his weapons and also made sure to run some routine checks on his MJOLNIR Mark VI. At this time, he was taking apart his trademark MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and doing the routine work of cleaning, checking for stress in each of the components. The whole process took only a few seconds due to his augmentations and his long experience with the weapon, and when he re-assembled the weapon, he moved to do the same with his M90A Shotgun. The company was currently being handled by the board and his secretary was handling the matters that he could not and routinely sending in messages, memos, and reports.

He was not a very good fan of paperwork and once more he could not help but wonder at how people were able to handle it. Dr. Halsey in his mind was possibly the only person he knew of who did paperwork and enjoyed it. The only difference was that she did all of her work on the computer and her work was focused on developing the technology he and the others needed to face off with the Covenant. The Spartan also decided that he could also do some regular work on the Slipspace Drive engine and do some needed checks on it.

He was not a capable engineer and technician when it came to Slipspace Drive maintenance as he had never dealt with it before, but he had the experience and Cortana was more than able to help him. One of the things he hoped for was the chance to work on the chance to make an operable ship for testing and also make a secondary Slipspace driver to serve as a test bed for what was to come.

When the Colonization Era as it was named began, the UNSC and the civilian community had created test ships that could be able to use the Slipspace Drives and see how they would work. This was needed at the time since the technology was still in it's infancy and was still fraught with dangers. And when it was deemed to be more than able to work, the Slipspace Drive became standard for all human build starships though some were usually not given one. Even though Slipspace Drives were normally used for transportation, John was aware of Black Ops programs that were focused on how to use Slipspace for offensive military operations and for combat.

Black Box rigged Slipspace Drives only known as Saddle-boxes were routinely used by the UNSC to test out Slipspace to see if there was more to it's use than just moving ships from one sector of space to the next.

And while he had not seen some of these same projects in action during the war with the Insurrection and the UNSC-Covenant War, he had heard of the progress of such technology. The reason why he needed to do that was not for warfare purposes, but to attempt to see if Slipspace could be utilized in this reality that he and Cortana were in.

That and also test if any ship that they might be able to develop in the future might prove to be able to handle the effects of Slipspace. Most space fairing ships in this timeline would not be able to stand up to the transition from normal space to Slipspace due to their technological inferiority to UNSC Ship construction so they were out of the question. The way of ship construction in the UNSC relied on several materials which at this point were not ready, and the Titanium supplies on Earth were woefully inadequate and the way to chemically transform the Titanium alloy to Titanium A was not yet present.

There was also the need for TR Steel and Vanadium Steel, the two steels that were the framework for any type of UNSC ship as well as civilian ships that were the size of freighters and larger transport ships, as well as even liners. Plus there was also the need for Lead Foil to counter radiation from the various celestial bodies that were there in space. Cherenkov radiation was the most dangerous form from Slipspace jumps and could kill people easily. His MJOLNIR might be hardened against radiation but not to the extent of surviving a massive dosage of the radiation. And the energy released by the event that could unleash such a high level of radiation could overpower the systems along with the Lead Foil.

The Lead Foil had to be of the highest quality and it had to be in a certain thickness to be effective in what it was needed to do. If it was not meeting those requirements then the risks of the crew being killed would hit the roof. All in all, the creation of a ship needed to test a way to use the technology that Cortana had been aiming for the open the possible barriers of realities t sent them home with the application of Slipspace was going to be horrendously expensive. He knew that until they were able to find a means in order to get those resources, that plan had to be shelved.

And of course they needed a shipyard for it and that was going to also be high risk low reward as the technological of space construction in this reality was going very low. The Spartan and his A.I companion had to plan this out a lot more and they also need to find the other things to make this all work. But if it did not work…well, he would just have to adapt here and make the most of his life and protect Earth from threats, namely terrorists, the core reason he was recruited and molded into a Spartan in the first place.

As he was done with the routine checks he moved to another station to check up on the executive board of his company to see how things were doing. And he also needed to check up on the bases that he had set up to make sure that they were not accidentally revealed. For now it seemed to be peaceful for him and while the peace was good, it was not something he got used to just yet to the point he would lower his guard.

It was here that Cortana appeared and spoke to him.

"You got an incoming call on your cell-phone."

"Any idea who?"

Cortana frowned at that and replied.

"The Baroness herself."

That got John into a serious mode as he had not expected that.

"How did that happen?"

"I believe they managed to get your contact number from one of our employees when they hit the place a few months before. No doubt our personal pilot since his cell-phone had been in their hands prior to our people rescuing him. They must have gotten a chance to copy it's memory files at the time."

"Can you trace the call?"

Cortana nodded a bit and spoke again.

"There might be a chance that they will try to mislead us by bouncing the signal off cell sites and try to track you down for another shot at locating and kidnapping you, but I think I can deal with that easily enough. Still not sure why she would call you though by cell and possibly expose herself, but be ready for anything John. This might also allow me to try and place a data bug in whatever device they have on hand."

John nodded as he took the nearby cell phone and spoke to it as Cortana began to track down the Cobra agent. This was a slip on their part as they had not taken the theft of John's number into account. However, they were going to remedy that once they got the chance, plus this might be a chance for Cortana to get her hands on whatever data she could about their next move.

"Hello?"

And sure enough, it was the Baroness.

"Greetings Mister Mendez, it has been a while has it not?"

"You…the Baroness, how did you get this number?"

"Ah, that would be telling now would it Mister Mendez? But enough about chit chat for today, I am curious on how are you in your place of residence?"

"Why are you so curious?"

"Nothing, I am merely trying to find out how you are, I still remember how you managed to best me and my men when we raided your place of business. I have to admit…your skills in combat was quite…impressive, almost as impressive as your company's security measures. I must say that I did not expect you to be that skilled."

"I had a good teacher."

"I'm sure you have, you must have hired the best to be that skilled."

John knew honeyed tones when he heard it and was not in the mood for them.

"Cut the sugar coating Baroness, if you're here to try and track me down to convince me to part with secrets of my company, don't bother. I refuse to sell the technology to terrorists and this that."

"I see, perhaps when you and I meet again, I can change your mind."

"Let me wager a guess, drugs, truth serum, hypnosis, torture, seduction, bribery, threats?"

There was some laughter there and the Baroness spoke to him. Unaware of the fact that Cortana was already getting closer to tracking her and also moving closer to planting the data bug into the Cobra database. Cobra might have gone off the grid so to speak, but that did not mean that they were completely off of it.

"My, you really are eloquent Mr. Mendez, if it comes to such methods, then why not, though I think the third to the last option sounds more promising. Don't you agree?"

John turned and Cortana looked at him with a cheeky grin, showing that her trick worked, and Cobra apparently was none the wiser. That also meant that despite their attempts to track him down via the cell phone, they had not managed to fool Cortana and she had been able to filter out their tracking data streams. That to him was the signal. to cut the conversation short and truth be told, he was looking forward to putting the end to this conversation.

"Sorry, but I would rather be locked in the darkest prison imaginable and have the key thrown away for life than let you come near me. Good day!"

…

The Baroness fumed at that, and was less than pleased to discover that their attempts to home in on the location of Mr. Mendez had failed. Somehow their tracking software had not been able to locate him whereabouts, and therefore they could not launch their strike team to take him down in his place and make sure that he would be taken alive. Their soldiers were to be armed with traq-rifles to try and subdue the man alive. Despite her previous failure to take the man alive, she intended to bring him in and have him be convinced to give Cobra his secrets. That was due to the technology he had being quite interesting and would still be a major benefit to their forces.

Even Mindbender expressed interest in the technology which was enough to convince Cobra Commander and the others to deploy a strike team of some of their newly trained Vipers to try and capture the man. But without any idea on where he was living, the mission had to be scrapped.

The dark haired Cobra officer however did not let the loss bother her in the slightest as she had to admit that if they did catch him, it would be too easy. There was something…something about Mendez that got her attention and she did admit that the chance to finally outmatch him interested her. In fact, the new unit of female Cobra soldiers she was putting together would need to be tested, and the only way for that to happen was if they had a challenge when they were deployed.

But that was going to have to be for a much later date, as they were still being trained and given all the needed gear and attention. Soon her own cadre of Vipers would be deployed and they would make her proud. But for now, they were going to have to keep silent and deploy only expendable mercenaries to do their dirty work while they focused on gathering more funds and hiring only the best of the best.

…

And they were indeed hiring the best of the best, the ones of their original forces of Cobra Soldiers who remained loyal were sent through a more serious level of training o weed out the more exceptional soldiers and the regular ones were still placed to use in support, garrison and logistic roles. The ones who passed the more serious training/selection process were soon being sent through the courses that Cobra had outlined for the molding into much more skilled soldiers. The Crimson Guard who were not in base and in cover were also working hard to still provide funds and resources through legitimate channels and loopholes. And with their forces cut down to avoid detection, this left a massive amount of funds to send to the R&D labs.

They also began to focus only on those who had unique talents and experiences as well as seeking out only those who they knew hated the current system, desired money and power that they could get by any means. They also targeted people who were desperate and hungry for more and had felt that the world governments were nothing more than a collection of fat, lazy, and corrupt people who preyed on the weak. Gone was their focus of only gaining the lackluster troopers who did it only for money alone. And it worked well for their needs since despite the numbers being small at first, the numbers soon began to grow and once they were able to get enough, the intense and rigorous training began.

Destro, the Twins, Scrap Iron, and Storm Shadow also contributed to the training and began to select those who passed their own personal demands and requirements. These soldiers who passed were going to be working on fields that would be touched by them in the same way that the Baroness was going to train her own cadre of female agents who would soon be deployed in their own trial runs in battle.

This was a boon to be sure, but Cobra was always on the lookout for more ways increase their cash reserves for their still strong plans for world domination which they had no intent on giving up.

…

Time passed and John kept himself busy with what he could do while making sure to be ready for whatever scheme Cobra would be cooking up next. He was also able to be present for the surgery of Snake Eyes when the time came for the Joe to undergo the surgery. Naturally he had gone to the hospital that was able to use the technology that his company developed and he kept his word. He had brought in his company's best surgeons and specialists and paid the full amount of money needed for Snake Eyes' therapy in being able to recover the use of his voice.

That was something that the Joes were obviously very thankful for and they made it clear that regardless of the outcome, they were happy that someone was willing to help them. John did not mind the praise and reminded them that the real test would only come once the surgery was over and declared a success by his people.

The Joes naturally stayed with Snake Eyes to make sure that this surgery was going to proceed smoothly and John was also there since he left the board to handle the company while he oversaw the procedures himself. It took at least three days to complete the surgery since they not only had to grow the replacement organs from Snake Eyes' DNA but they also had to make sure that it was not going to be rejected easily and it would go well for him. They also took the time to reopen the area where he was given surgery when his vocal cords were damaged and removed the now ruined organs to have the new organs placed in. The process took a bit longer, but it was a lot safer and when it was over, it was reported by his company's specialists that the procedure was successful.

It would take some time, months at the most, but Snake Eyes was now able to speak out, letters were first, and then basic words. Sentences and higher level communication skills had to be placed away for a time since he had been reliant on sign language for a very long time and therefore, his verbal skills had severely deteriorated. Another issue was that he had to practice speaking in tones and volume due to not yet being used to his newly implanted vocal organs.

Snake Eyes however was smiling a bit as he did the exercises and the Joes were just as pleased, John also made sure to have Snake Eyes undergo a proper diet to allow him to have the energy to heal properly and build his strength in order to learn how to speak letters and words.

However, it was not going to be long before he would be called on to handle yet another one of Cobra's new missions being handed off to outside independent contractors. Cortana informed him that she had been able to hack into one of the Cobra bases and determined two things. Apparently the first was that Cobra had undergone a serious overhaul which would explain at leas to him why they went dark,. The second was that they were now after something that was of a nature that John and Cortana had not dealt with before and they were going to have to get some outside help. That part Cortana was dealing with already.

…

In one of the Albatross Dropships…

John checked out the MA5C that he was carrying with him along with an old friend of his, the MA2A Assault Carbine while Cortana was flying the much larger transport. He normally would not want to use this kind of transport, but considering where he was going, there was going to be a need for a more mobile base of operations, plus a source of supplies and firepower. The BATs that Cortana commanded were also with him, this time however they were wearing a variant of the UNSC Marine BDU for jungle warfare operations and carrying weapons suited for their design. Their faces were now covered with specially made cloth to hide the fact that they were machines along with their helmets with a more full face guard.

The MA2A was the same weapon he and his team used in their first mission as Spartans prior to both wearing the MJOLNIR Mark IV Power Armor and the war with the Covenant. And despite being older in comparison to other weapons, it was still a useful weapon in missions were they needed to have less ordnance and a lesser profile for missions. That was a good thing for him as he moved back into the massive cockpit and spoke to Cortana just as she appeared.

"Everything set and read to go?"

|"Yes, still, not really all that sure about the mission."

The A.I nodded at that and replied.

"Not surprising since this definitely was not in the training manual when we both started out huh?"

John smirked a bit at that as he took off his helmet and replied.

"Pretty much, what exactly are we dealing with?"

Cortana ran through the data again and revealed what she had been able to gather from the intercepted communiqué made by Cobra itself. Apparently the organization had decided to not only expand their experimentation with military technology, but also get their coffers filled again with treasures and more besides. They naturally decided to go for hiring a new force of free agents who were more than willing to take a shot at the targets they were after.

"How much do you know of the Knights Templar?"

"They were a military order founded during the Middle Ages, one of the most influential orders and organizations in the time. They were known for intense training, equipment, uncompromising beliefs in battle for the honor of God and the Church, and willingness to fight to the point that only when all flags fell did they leave. They eventually lost their military function after Saladin drove the Crusaders out and were eventually removed by the efforts of King Philip of France and the pope at the time Pope Clement."

"Exactly, the same can be said for the records we have on that same order in OUR reality, but there are some differences. Keep in mind that in our reality, the Knights Templar was rumored to have recovered a number of religious artifacts in the time of their founding in Jerusalem. All of which were recovered and were studied intensely by science, here on the other hand, it's a bit different. Like our reality's Knights Templar Order, who's storehouses hiding all the wealth they had which Philip targeted in the hope to take to replenish his coffers but were empty, the same happened here as well. And like our own reality's order, this reality's Knights Templar Order had also been suspected of finding a number of holy relics. The difference between the two is that according to what I dug up, they also dealt with relics of a LESS than Holy nature."

"What exactly are you getting at Cortana?"

"They dealt with relics that belonged to what we could guess to be pagan gods, or the devil if you want to get a bit more serious about it. I know it sounds out there John, and even I have a hard time picturing it myself, but it was written in the records that a detachment of this reality's Templars recovered a fairly large collection of relics used by cultists somewhere in the Middle East. No idea what they were, but it was stated in the records that Cobra got, that nearly all the Templars were slain and the only surviving members told the Order that they had been forced to bury the relics. They petitioned their Order to send a number of priests to try and cleanse the place and seal away the relics."

"And?"

"The relics in question were still unknown, but it was dangerous enough to make the Order build a special case of gold with holy symbols to have it removed and you can guess that the case was spotted by this reality's Philip and he wanted it as well. That case was also taken from the storehouse by the Templars when they fled from the Inquisition forces sent to take them out. There is no idea just where the Templars hid their treasures and relics thus far, but the fact that Cobra is willing to pour this much money into looking for them is already a cause for concern."

"I understand, so who did they outsource this job to?"

"According to the data, they gave the contract to a mercenary army calling themselves the Blood Talons, in public they are the 'private security firm' with some legal protection, however they have a seriously bad track record if one were to look hard enough. Some of the reports stated that they had actually been contracted by corrupt businessmen from different corners of the world to protect their interests and have some friends up at Washington to cover for them. They are a collection of former military personnel and are being led by one James Ackerson."

That name got John's attention quickly as he looked at Cortana with a look of surprise, which was obvious not in his face due to him wearing his helmet.

"Ackerson? Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack, I guess there ARE some things in another reality that do match up with ours. This Ackerson being ne of them, former US Special Forces, made it to the rank of Colonel but was court-martialed for distributing illegal substances to several of the units he had been assigned to co-train and also for brutality. He managed to squirm his way out of that one but lost his commission as a Colonel. But instead of fading away, he became the co founder of the Blood Talons, no doubt the ones who helped him escape the law, thought he was too good to let rot away. This guy however does not have a brother and both parents died when he was at least ten so he was in foster care until he joined the military."

Cortana presented the man's file and John read it extensively and saw that while there were differences , this man was an exact mirror to the UNSC Army officer who was their organization's liaison with ONI. The similarities made him shiver in disgust as he placed it aside and decided that if this was the guy he was going to be dealing with, then he would be ready.

"So we're going to go in and take out the Blood Talons before they do their work?"

"Not just yet, recently I ran into a file pertaining to someone who might be able to help us in recovering any data on what Cobra wants. There is one person who has been known to be an expert on rare artifacts and ancient myths tied to said artifacts. One Lady Lara Croft from England and known to be one of the most skilled individuals thus far, I am pulling in her file now. It's a pretty extensive file to boot"

John looked it over and as he did so, he began to take in the details, as well as the picture there. The woman appeared to be mid to late twenties and was dark brunette and had features that could very well spell knockout at least that would be the way most men would call her. The stats she had also backed it up as well as the pictures when she was seen by the media. Born to members of the London elite, namely Lord Richard Croft and lady Amelia Croft, Lara was considered as one of the most recognized members of British society, even though her parents were gone and the family fortune was not as extensive in the past. This was due to her skills as a writer and maker of her own books that have allowed her to maintain a considerable financial power base and to fund her expeditions. In the file were a number of known artifacts that she had found, and John did raise his eyebrow as he saw that one such artifact was the Mjolnir itself.

But John was not interested in those details, he was more interested in her mental and physical capabilities, and what he saw thus far was rather impressive.

": Trained on horseback riding, weapons operation, archery, accomplished in the use of improvised weapons, hand to hand combat expert, skilled in the use of computers, gymnastics, accomplished swimmer and diver, skilled vehicle operator, runner. And she holds several doctorates in history, social sciences, archaeology, and ancient languages."

Cortana looked at her long time partner and smiled at him as she spoke.

"Like I said John, quite the resume, if she had been born in our reality, she would have made quite the Spartan."

"True, where is she now?"

Cortana activated the map and replied to said question.

"Currently doing an archaeological dig at some old ruins deep in South America, near the area where the Antarctic should be. The Blood Talons however have been contracted to find her and convince her to translate some of the files that Cobra sent them. Apparently Cobra is well aware of Lara's extensive experience with dead languages and ancient artifacts of legend."

"They did not try to ask her to help them?"

"Nope, apparently she is no fan of terrorists which is a good thing for us. But not so for Cobra, which was why they deployed the Blood Talons to retrieve her and convince her otherwise. She is quite capable of handling herself, but considering what we know of Cobra's growing abilities and the fact that they have gone dark, we should not take chances."

John agreed as he got himself into the battle mode that all Spartans were well known for.

"How long before we reach the target."

"At least two hours and ten minutes tops, no sense revealing the Albatross unless necessary. There are some Mongooses ready for the operation if you need them. The dig site is at least several kilometers from our LZ, and with the Blood Talons coming in, speed is critical. Once we are in position over the LZ, get ready to move while I get it away from prying eyes with one of my copies."

John nodded in agreement and decided to get things in his mind organized for what was to come. Once concern however cropped up in his mind when he and his BAT team were soon about to hit the dirt of their Landing Zone.

Just how was Miss Lara Croft going to being asked by him to help him stop a band of mercenaries hired by Cobra? She might hate Cobra for hat they do, but there was no telling how she would react working with him, Cortana, and the BATs under his command.

Well, there was only one way to find out it seemed.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

There we go, not the part where John would meet up with Lara Croft, but it will do for the time being to get things underway. The meeting between the famous adventurer/scholar and the future era super soldier will be useful and while I can bet a lot of people would like to see what I can do with them.

But I am aware that since we are talking about the meeting of two icons of the gaming world, there will be a lot of people questioning me if I will make one outshine the other. This might cause a lot of friction and dislike so I will make sure to show both Lara and John at their best side by side. The BATs will provide support fire and also extra muscle as the Blood Talons will not be ordinary soldiers when they are seen in combat. Since the majority of them are former soldiers and some are former special forces, they can be a challenge and the fact that are armed with their own gear and some Cobra merchandise is telling.

The call made by the Baroness to John was something I decided to add for the sake of a plot device as this will allow John to even up the odds with Cobra going dark. Now I can't really say what was it that Cortana was able to do, but I can assure you that it will be a useful edge for the two to have when Cobra comes out full time.

…

Cobra will soon be deploying it's forces after the arc that has John and Lara working together, so you can bet that considering what they have been doing, they will not be the same as before. I have been in correspondence with Hang Tuah, who has been a very important partner of mine when it comes to brain storming tech ideas and more for stories.

I have thought of bringing in the canon Conquest Strike Fighters that were seen in the series, but I also have to think about several other fighter designs that can be useful. One such design is the Widow Maker, and also the next is the F-22 Raptor. There are also some very interesting ideas that Hang and I have discussed and I have decided to include these once I commit full time to all my Halo stories.

See you all soon on the next arc!


End file.
